Current Affairs Today 17th December 2019 | Current Affairs News

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Daily Current Affairs PDF of 17th December 2019

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL

BEL & HAL organise roadshow urging active participation in DefExpo 2020

• Defence PSUs Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL)organised a roadshow in the run up to the 11th edition of DefExpo scheduled to be held in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh from February 5-8, 2020. The roadshow was organised to urge vendors from the private sector, MSMEs and startups based in Delhi-NCR to actively participate in the upcoming Defence exhibition and take advantage of the potential business opportunities in the offing.

• The theme of DefExpo 2020 is ‘Digital Transformation of Defence’. The event would provide a common platform for Defence industries, both public and private, MSMEs and startups to showcase their capabilities and R&D strengths to potential customers from both India and abroad.

• General Manager (Network Centric System & Unit Head) BEL Ghaziabad ShriJoydeep Majumdar made a detailed presentation on DefExpo and elaborated the advantages of participating in the show to the business enterprises.

• The roadshow, which ended with an interactive session, was a grand success with participation from more than 170 vendors from across Delhi-NCR.

Additional points;

• Bharat Electronics Limited(BEL) is an Indian state-owned aerospace and defence company with about nine factories, and several regional offices in India. It is owned by the Indian Government and primarily manufactures advanced electronic products for the Indian Armed Forces.

Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka

Chairman: M.V.Gowtama.

• Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is an Indian state-owned aerospace and defencecompany .. It is governed under the management of the Indian Ministry of Defence.
• Headquarters: Bangalore, India

Chairman: Madhavan

India donates solar-powered lamps to marginalised Palestinian children

• India has donated solar powered study lamps to Palestinian elementary school children from a marginalised Bedouin community to spread the principles of self-sufficiency and raise awareness towards the adverse effects of climate change.
• The lamps were donated as part of the 150th Gandhi Jayanti Students Solar Ambassador Workshop. The solar powered study lamps supplied by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay aims at making the student beneficiaries for the future propagators of renewable energy.
• Representative of India (ROI) in the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), Sunil Kumar, visited the Governorate of Jericho and Jordan Valley where he was received by Governor Jehad Abu Al-Asal, Director of the Jericho Directorate of Education, and representatives of the local community.
• As part of India’s outreach and cooperation programme in the local Palestinian community, Kumar visited the Ka’abneh Bedouin School with Palestinian dignitaries where he presented portable solar-powered lamps to the elementary school children.
• Addressing the students and the local community, he underlined India’s time-tested support to Palestine, especially highlighting New Delhi’s capacity building efforts with emphasis on the educational sector.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL

UNESCO removes ‘anti-Semitic’ Belgian carnival from heritage list

• Belgian carnival has been removed from UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list after officials found the “recurrence of racist and anti-Semitic representations” to be incompatible with its principles.
• Aalst Carnival was recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), but has been widely condemned by Jewish organizations.
• The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity announced Friday it would remove the Aalst Carnival from its heritage list.
• “Further to a proposal submitted by the Secretariat of UNESCO, the Committee based its decision on the fact that the recurrence of racist and anti-Semitic representations is incompatible with the fundamental principles of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage,” a spokesperson for UNESCO stated.

CURRENT AFFAIRS:BANKING

Moody’s slashes FY20 growth forecast to 4.9% on weak household consumption

• Moody’s Investors Service has lowered India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth projection for the 2019-20 fiscal year to 4.9 per cent from 5.8 per cent, citing weak household consumption.

• The rating agency stated that slower economic growth over the past few quarters would dent the debt repayment capacity of households and hurt retail loan quality.
• Private-sector among the key drivers of the slowdown.
• A credit crunch banks have a larger exposure to retail loans and may be more at risk. However, the increase in non-performing loans (NPLs) will likely be gradual.
• Moody’s, in a statement, stated that  India’s growth had decelerated as an investment-led slowdown had now broadened into weakening consumption. Financial stress among rural households and sluggish job creation are
• among non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs), the major providers of retail loans in recent years, has exacerbated the weaker conditions. Although the income shock to households has unfolded over years, the effects on headline growth were not visible as long as households could borrow. With the materialisation of a credit supply shock, the impact of these twin shocks to growth is apparent.

India joins elite club to enable free 24×7 NEFT funds transfer facility

• India moved to round-the-clock payment transfer system effectively joining only a handful of countries globally to do so. On top of it, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stated that effective  fromJanuary 1, banks should not charge anything to their savings account holders for availing such a facility through online or mobile modes.the facility got activated, and banks have started offering their customers round-the-clock NEFT services, except for a half an hour br
• The RBI joins an elite club of countries having payment systems which enable round the clock funds transfer and settlement of any value .
• So far, Australia, Hong Kong, Mexico, Sweden, Turkey, the UK, South Korea, Singapore, South Africa, and China have such payment system after midnight in some cases.

Fifth EAC meeting of 15th Finance Commission held in New Delhi

• The fifth meeting of the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) of the Fifteenth Finance Commission was held in New Delhi. After the meeting, Chairman NK Singh stated that future revenue is the most critical issue for the Finance Commission. He futher stated that tax regime needs predictability and certainty.
• In the meeting, possible macro assumptions related to real growth, inflation, ongoing structural reforms, tax revenue including GST, adherence to Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act and fiscal transparency were discussed. Further, Advisory Council was informed about submission of the 2020-21 report and Commission’s next course of actions pertaining to preparation of the report for 2021-26 period.

Additional info 

• The Fifteenth Finance Commission (15-FC) is an Indian Finance Commission constituted in November 2017 and is to give recommendations for devolution of taxes and other fiscal matters for five fiscal years, commencing on 1 April 2020.
• The commission’s chairman is N. K. Singh, with its full-time members being Ajay Narayan Jha, Ashok Lahiri and Anoop Singh. In addition, the commission also has a part-time member in Ramesh Chand.
• Shaktikanta Das served as a member of the commission from November 2017 to December 2018.

Centre releases Rs.35,298 cr GST compensation to states and UTs

• Ahead of the crucial GST Council meeting, the Centre has released about Rs.35,000 crore to states and Union Territories as pending compensation.
• The GST Council, the highest decision making body of the indirect tax regime, is slated to hold its meeting on December 18.
• Most of the states rued that the delay in payment has put pressure on their finances affecting many development work.
• the dip in collections to a slip in GST filing due to natural calamities and also due to a slowdown in consumption that has a direct impact on the collections

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MERGERS AND ACQUITIONS.

Ramco enters into agreement with China Aircraft Services.

• RAMCO Systems, aviation software provider has signed an agreement with China Aircraft Services Limited (CASL) to manage its end-to-end line and base maintenance operations.
• Through this collaboration, Ramco will provide its integrated Aviation Suite with modules for maintenance and engineering, MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) contracts, supply chain, and finance to help CASL manage its endto- end line and base maintenance, ground handling and cabin services.
• The mobile-enabled application will also offer realtime processing for work order, thereby reducing the overall turnaround time.
• Hosted on cloud with mobility and optimization features, the solution will replace disintegrated systems across various departments and seamlessly interface with other third-party airline, flight following and HR systems.
• Ramco’s intelligent platform with in-built analytics will also enable with real-time decision making,” stated by Andreas Meisel, CEO, CASL. Ramco has developed application compatibility on Microsoft HoloLens to bring augmented reality.

Arcerlormittal, Nippon steel complete acquisition of essar steel.

• Arcelor Mittal forms joint venture with Nippon Steel to operate Essar Steel; Aditya Mittal to be chairman of JV
• The deckS for acquisition of Essar Steel for ₹42,000 crore by L.N. Mittal-led company was cleared by the Supreme Court last month.
• Global steel giant ArcelorMittal stated it has completed acquisition of Essar Steel and formed a joint venture with Nippon Steel (AM/NS India) to own and operate the debt-ridden firm.
• The deck for acquisition of Essar Steel for ₹42,000 crore by L.N. Mittal-led company was cleared by the Supreme Court
• Aditya Mittal, President and CFO of Arcelor Mittal, has been appointed Chairman of AM/NS India, and Dilip Oommen has been appointed as its CEO.
• Arcelor Mittal announces that it has completed the acquisition of Essar Steel India Limited (ESIL), and simultaneously established a joint venture with Nippon Steel Corporation (Nippon Steel), called Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel India Limited (AM/NS India), which will own and operate ESIL.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS

Lieutenant General Manoj Mukund Naravane to be next Indian Army Chief

• Lieutenant General Manoj Mukund Naravane, who is currently Vice Chief of Army Staff, has been named as next Indian Army Chief.
• He is also the Colonel of the Regiment of the Sikh Light Infantry.
• Naravane will replace General Bipin Rawat, who became Army Chief on December 31, 2016.

Vistara CCO SanjivKapoor resigns, Vinod Kannan to take over

• Vistara’s Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) Sanjiv Kapoor has resigned from his position over ‘personal reasons’.
• The airline’s Chief Strategy Officer, Vinod Kannan, will take over as the new CCO.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

Gujarat police to get ‘President’s Colours’

• The Gujarat Police will become the seventh state police force in the country to be bestowed with the honour of the President’s Colours, after Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Tripura and Assam.
• President’s Colours, also called as ‘Nishaan’, an emblem which all police officers of Gujarat would wear on the left-hand sleeve of their uniform.
• The President’s Colour is the highest honour bestowed upon a police force in recognition of their invaluable contribution to society.
• Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu presented the ‘President’s Colours’ to the Gujarat police

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SUMMITS AND CONFERENCE

3 days“International Seminar on Climate Smart Farming Systems” for BIMSTEC countries held in New Delhi

• ‘International Seminar on Climate Smart Farming Systems’ for BIMSTEC countries is being held in
• It has been organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
• The objective of the seminar is to share experiences to enable the improvement of tropical smallholder farming systems for greater productivity and resilience to climate change.
• Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) is an approach to help farmers respond effectively to climate change and ensure food security.

It has three main objectives:

• Sustainably increasing agricultural productivity and incomes;
• Adapting and building resilience to climate change; and
• greenhouse gas emissions mitigation
• It is hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It is a multi-stakeholder platform that seeks to improve food security, nutrition, and resilience amidst climate change.

Additional Points

About BIMSTEC

• The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organization.
• It comprises of seven Member states lying in the littoral and adjacent areas of Bay of Bengal constituting a contiguous regional unity. The members include Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan, and Nepal.
• It was founded in 1997. It is headquartered in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

 Steeling India 2019

• The Confederation of Indian Industry organized “Steeling India 2019” conference, a drive to increase metal intensity in key sectors. Union Minister for Steel, Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan participated in the conference.
• The session focused on key industries namely automobile, infrastructure, railway, water, irrigation and housing. It discussed the strategies to promote steel intensive structures and to augment steel consumption. Steel producers, consumers and policy advisors attended the conference.
• The conference developed a road map to increase steel intensity in key sectors. It also brought in strategies to mitigate supply chain issues in the steel sector.
• CII organized the conference with the objective of augmenting steel production. The conference will help India pave ways to achieve its target of 300 MT of production by 2030 (according to National Steel Policy). The World Steel Association predicts steel demand in India to reach 103 MT (Million Tonnes) in 2019.

Additional Points

About CII

• The Confederation of Indian Industry is an industry association in India. CII is a non-government, not-for-profit, industry-led and industry-managed organization.
• It was founded in 1895. It is headquartered in New Delhi.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING

Mukesh Ambani’s RIL replaces Indian Oil at top of Fortune India 500 list

• Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries (RIL) ended Indian Oil Corporation Limited’s 10-year reign as India’s largest company on Fortune India 500 list.
• With revenue of ₹81 lakh crore in 2018-19, the Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate also became the first privately-held company to become India’s largest corporation.
• ONGC was ranked third. It was followed by State Bank of India, Tata Motors and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL).
• Rajesh Exports climbed one position to be ranked 7th on the 2019 list and so did Tata Steel, Coal India, Tata Consultancy Services and Larsen & Toubro that were ranked 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th, respectively.
• ICICI Bank rose two positions to be ranked 12th, followed by Hindalco Industries and HDFC Bank.

India is 112th in WEF rankings on gender gap, Bangladesh does better

• India is 112th among nations ranked in terms of the gap between genders, and it was among the bottom five for women’s health and survival and economic participation.
• Iceland remained the world’s most gender-neutral country on the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Report. India moved down the ladder from its 108th position last year to rank below countries like China (106th), Sri Lanka (102nd), Nepal (101st), Brazil (92nd), Indonesia (85th) and Bangladesh (50th).
• Yemen is ranked the worst (153rd), while Iraq is 152nd and Pakistan 151st.

Additional info

CURRENT AFFAIRS :SPORTS

ViratKohli retains top spot in ICC Test rankings

• Indian skipper ViratKohli retained his top spot among batsmen in the latest ICC Test rankings With 928 points, Kohli is 17 points clear of Australia’s Steve Smith who scored 43 and 16 in the first Test against New Zealand which Australia won by 296 runs.
• Cheteshwar Pujara with 791 and Ajinkya Rahane 759 held on to their fourth and sixth spots respectively.
• Among the bowlers, Bumrah slipped to the sixth spot in the list headed by Australia’s Pat Cummins.
• India’s RavindraJadeja, meanwhile, remained at number two, behind Jason Holder of the West Indies among Test all-rounders.
• In the ICC World Test Championship, India stand on top with 360 points, way ahead of Australia 216, Sri Lanka 80, New Zealand 60 and England 56.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARY

Veteran Bollywood actress Gita Siddharth passes away

• Actress Gita SiddharthKak passed away in Mumbai.
• The actress is best known for her role in M.S. Sathyu’s 1973 classic ‘GarmHava’.
• Gita made her debut in Gulzar’s 1972 film, Parichay, starring Jeetendra and Jaya Bhaduri. She was a familiar face on the Bollywood screen of the seventies and eighties, featuring in films such as “Sholay”, “Trishul”, “Disco Dancer”, “Ram Teri Ganga Maili”, “Nooriea, “DeshPremee”, “Dance Dance”, “Kasam Paida Karne Wale Ki”, “Shaukeen”, “Arth”, aceMandi”, “EkChadarMaili Si”, “Gaman” and “Doosra Aadmi”.

Former Union Minister ID Swami passes away

• Former Minister of State for Home Affairs ID Swami passed away due to a heart ailment. He was 90.
• Swami, a two-time parliamentarian from Karnal, Haryana was given the charge of the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs.

Three-time Olympic champion and mile record holder Peter Snell passes away

• Famed New Zealand Olympic middle distance runner Peter Snell has passed away in Dallas at age 80.
• He won three Olympic gold medals. He took the 800 metres at the 1960 Rome Games and won both the 800 and 1,500 metres at the 1964 Tokyo Games.
• He is the only man since 1920 to have won both events at the same Olympics.
• He set world records in the mile and 800 metres and also won dual gold at the 1962.

 Current affairs one-liners – December 17

• Defence PSUs Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL) organised a roadshow in the run up to the 11th edition of DefExpo scheduled to be held in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

 India donates solar-powered lamps to marginalised Palestinian children

• UNESCO removes ‘anti-Semitic’ Belgian carnival from heritage list

• Moody’s slashes FY20 growth forecast to 4.9% on weak household consumption

• India joins elite club to enable free 24×7 NEFT funds transfer facility
• FM Sitharama Fifth EAC meeting of 15th Finance Commission held in New Delh.
• Centre releases₹35,298 cr GST compensation to states and UTs.

• Ramco enters into agreement with China Aircraft Services.

• Arcerlormittal, Nippon steel complete acquisition of essar steel.

• Vistara CCO Sanjiv Kapoor resigns, Vinod Kannan to take over.

• 3 days“International Seminar on Climate Smart Farming Systems” for BIMSTEC countries held in New Delhi..

• The Confederation of Indian Industry organized “Steeling India 2019” conference, a drive to increase metal intensity in key sectors.

• Mukesh Ambani’s RIL replaces Indian Oil at top of Fortune India 500 list.

• India is 112th in WEF rankings on gender gap, Bangladesh does better.

• Virat Kohli retains top spot in ICC Test rankings

• Veteran Bollywood actress Gita Siddharth passes away.

• Former Union Minister ID Swami passes away.
• Three-time Olympic champion and mile record holder Peter Snell passes away

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