01-02 December 2019 - Daily Current Affairs
1. Soma Roy Burman takes charge as new Controller General of Accounts
- Today, Soma Roy Burman (1986-batch Indian Civil Accounts Service officer) took charge as the new Controller General of Accounts (CGA), Principal Advisor on Accounting matters to the Union Government.
- She is the 24th CGA and the 7th woman to hold this coveted position.
- She took over from J P S Chawla.
- Earlier, Burman served as Additional Controller General of Accounts in the office of the CGA.
- She handled the critical areas of accounting rules, policy and reforms, financial reporting, data analytics, cash and budget management.
- CGA works under the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
- The responsibility of establishing and maintaining a technically sound management accounting system rests with the CGA.
2. Former RBI deputy governor HR Khan appointed as chairman of the micro-finance panel
- The former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), H R Khan has been appointed as the first chairman of the steering committee of the Code for Responsible Lending (CRL) in micro-credit.
- Members of the steering committee include Harsh Shrivastava of MFIN, P Satish of Sa-Dhan, Srinivas Bonam of IndusInd Bank and Sonia Krishnankutty of L&T Finance among others.
- The CRL is a self-regulatory step for the micro-credit industry making diverse entities like banks, NBFC-MFIs and NBFCs adhere to standards of customer protection.
- The CRL was envisaged to be guided and supervised by a steering committee representing banks, SFBs, NBFC-MFIs, NBFCs and industry associations under an eminent independent chair.
- CRL was launched in September by MFIN and Sa-Dhan (RBI-recognised association of MFIs) along with Finance Industry Development Council, an association of NBFCs.
3. Nana Patole elected as Speaker of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
- Congress leader Nana Patole has been elected as the Speaker of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
- Earlier, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Kisan Kathore withdrew his nomination.
- Maharashtra BJP legislature party leader Devendra Fadnavis was named Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly.
Important Days
4. 1st December: World AIDS day
- World Aids Day is being celebrated every year on 1st December (since 1988) to raise public awareness about Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
- This year, the theme is "Communities Make the Difference".
- It is a pandemic disease caused due to the infection of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
- The Union Government has developed a seven-year National Strategic Plan from 2017 to 2024 to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
5. Border Security Force celebrates its 55th raising day on 1 December
- The Border Security Force (BSF) celebrated its 55th formation day on 1st December 2019.
- The ceremony was attended by Union Minister of State Affairs Nityanand Rai at BSF headquarters in New Delhi.
- India's Border Security Force (First Line of Defence of Indian Territories) was formed on 1st December 1965, after the Indo-Pak and India-China wars.
- With 186 battalions and over 2.57 lakhs military personnel, the BSF is the largest border security unit in the world.
- BSF Jawans have lived up to their motto of Duty Unto Death (जीवन पर्यंत कर्तव्य).
- Director-General of BSF: V K Johri
- Headquarter: New Delhi.
6. 1st December: Nagaland celebrates 57th formation Day
- Nagaland state celebrated its 57th formation day.
- On 1st December 1963, Nagaland became the 16th state of India.
- The Hornbill Festival (Festival of Festivals) is a celebration held every year from 1 to 10 December, in Nagaland, Northeast India.
- The festival organised by Nagaland Government is an annual tourism promotional event to showcase the state’s traditional and rich cultural heritage in all its ethnicity, diversity and grandeur.
- The Nagaland state shares its borders with the state of Assam to the west, Arunachal Pradesh to the North, Manipur to the South and Burma to the east.
- The key economic activity of the state is agriculture and the main crops include – rice, corn, millets, pulses, oilseeds, etc.
- Governor: RN Ravi
- Chief Minister: Neiphiu Rio
7. 2nd December: International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
- The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery organized every year on 2nd December by the United Nations General Assembly.
- The Day was first celebrated in 1986.
- International days are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems and to celebrate and reinforce the achievements of humanity.
- The Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others was approved by the United Nations General Assembly on December 2, 1949.
- An estimated 40.3 million people are in modern slavery, including 24.9 in forced labour and 15.4 million in forced marriage.
8. 35th anniversary of Bhopal gas tragedy being observed
- National Pollution Control Day (NPCD) is observed every year on 2nd December (India) in the memory of those who have lost their lives in the Bhopal Gas tragedy on 2nd December 1984.
- The main objective is to make people aware, spread awareness in the industries that cause various pollution like water, air, soil, noise and affect the environment and obviously health.
- Several hundred people were killed, and scores of people were maimed for life when the Methyl Isocyanate gas was leaked from the pesticide plant of Union Carbide.
National Affairs
9. MoS Sanjay Dhotre inaugurates India Pavilion at International Book Fair in Mexico
- Mr Sanjay Dhotre (Minister of State for Human Resource Development) has inaugurated the India Pavilion at International Book Fair in Guadalajara, Mexico.
- This fair is the biggest book fair in the Spanish-speaking world.
- India is the ‘Guest of Honour Country’ in this book fair and it becomes the first Asian country to participate as ‘Guest of Honour' in the Fair.
- Mr Dhotre invited all the publishers gathered from across the world to the World Book Fair being organised by National Book Trust in New Delhi (in January 2020).
10. Intensified Mission Indradhanush 2.0 launched across the country today
- Today, the Union Government has launched the Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 2.0 across the country.
- The government's flagship scheme is aimed at immunizing children under the age of 2 years and pregnant women against eight vaccine-preventable diseases.
- The Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) covers vaccines for diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, poliomyelitis, tuberculosis, measles, meningitis and Hepatitis B.
- Vaccines for Japanese encephalitis and Hemophilus influenzal are also being provided in selected areas.
- The IMI 2.0 aims to achieve targets of full immunization coverage in 272 districts spread over 27 States between December 2019 and March 2020.
- In October 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the IMI.
- The IMI was built on Mission Indradhanush, using additional strategies to reach populations at high risk, by involving sectors other than health. It was an effort to shift routine immunization into a peoples movement.
11. PM Modi holds bilateral talks with Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds the talk with King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden at Hyderabad House in New Delhi.
- The Swedish King and Queen Silvia arrived in New Delhi on a five-day visit to India.
- The Swedish King is leading a high-level business delegation for engagements with Indian counterparts.
- Several agreements on furthering bilateral engagement are likely to be signed between the two countries
- India and Sweden have a bilateral trade turnover of 3.37 billion dollars and cumulative investments of about 2.5 billion dollars.
12. India becomes the first country to make entire Haj process digital
- India has become the first country to make the entire process for pilgrims going on Haj completely digital.
- This came after the minister signed the bilateral agreement for the pilgrimage with the Saudi Haj Minister in Jeddah.
- An online application, e-visa, Haj mobile app, “e-MASIHA” health facility, “e-luggage pre-tagging” providing all information in India itself regarding accommodation and transportation in Mecca-Madina.
- This year, a 100-line information centre has been established at the Haj House, Mumbai for providing information regarding the entire Haj process.
- The Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims.
- It is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey.
International Affairs
13. UN Climate Change Conference begins in Spain from Dec 2 - 13
- UN Climate Change Conference (known as COP25) gets underway in the Spanish capital, Madrid, under the Presidency of Chile.
- COP 25 is an important conference as countries prepare to move from the pre-2020 period under the Kyoto Protocol to the post-2020 period under the Paris Agreement.
- India's approach will be guided by principles and provisions of UNFCCC and Paris Agreement particularly the principles of Equity and Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capability (CBDR-RC).
- India has been leading the world in its pursuit of enhanced solar energy capacity through International Solar Alliance (ISA).
- The Indian delegation led by Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar.
14. India-Sri Lanka joint exercise “MITRA SHAKTI” begins
- India-Sri Lanka joint exercise “MITRA SHAKTI” (7th edition) begins at Aundh Military Station, Pune.
- It aims to build and promote positive relations between armies of both the countries focusing subunit level training on counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations in the urban and rural environment.
- It is conducted annually as part of military diplomacy and interaction between armies of two nations.
Sports
15. Gurpreet Singh & Sunil Kumar clinch gold medals in Senior National C'ships
- Gurpreet Singh & Sunil Kumar clinched gold medals at the senior national wrestling championships in Jalandhar.
- Gurpreet defeated Sajan Bhanwal by a 3-1 margin, in the 77-kilogram category.
- Sunil also managed an easy win over Punjab's Prabhal. The Railway's grappler used all his experience to crush the Punjab wrestler 5-1 in the 87 kg final.
- In the 55 kg category, Arjun, representing Services, won against Ajay by technical superiority.
- Punjab's Harpreet Singh (the Asian Games silver medallist) defeated Rajbir Chhikara of Railways 4-1 in the 82 kg category final.
- Railways finished on the top with 210 points ahead of Services (170 points) and Jharkhand (109 points).
16. Senior Wrestling National C'ships: Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik clinch gold
- Star wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik registered convincing wins in the finals to claim gold medals at the Senior Wrestling National Championships in Jalandhar.
- Phogat beat Haryana’s Anju 7-3 in the 55kg category.
- Olympic bronze medallist Malik defeated Radhika (Haryana) 4-2 in the 62kg category.
- In the 68kg category, Haryana wrestler Anita Sheoran stunned Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Divya Kakran.
- In the 50kg category, Meerut's Sheetal Tomar dominated Nirmala to post a 7-3 win.
17. Priyam Garg to lead India at ICC U-19 World Cup 2020
- Uttar Pradesh batsman Priyam Garg (19-year) will lead defending champions India in next year's Under-19 ICC Cricket World Cup (13th edition) to be held in South Africa (17th January to 9th February 2020).
- India (defending champions) are placed in Group 'A' with first-time qualifier Japan, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.
- Sixteen teams will be taking part in the tournament, split into four groups of four.
- The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super League stage, with the bottom two teams in each group progressing to the Plate League.
