08-09 December 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. South Africa’s Zozibini Tunzi crowned 2019 Miss Universe

Zozibini Tunzi (26-years) of South Africa has been crowned Miss Universe 2019 in a glitzy ceremony held in Atlanta, the capital of the US state of Georgia.
Ms Tunzi beat over 90 contestants around the globe in the 68th instalment of Miss Universe.
Madison Anderson (Miss Universe Puerto Rico) was the runner-up in this contest.
Sofía Aragón (Miss Universe Mexico) is the second runner up.
India's Vartika Singh couldn't make it to the top 20.
The Philippines’ Catriona Gray (Miss Universe winner in 2018) presented Ms Tunzi the crown.

Note:

Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by the Miss Universe Organization.

Results	Winners
Miss Universe 2019	Ms Zozibini Tunzi (South Africa)
1st Runner-Up	Madison Anderson (Puerto Rico)
2nd Runner-Up	Sofía Aragón (Mexico)

Important Days

2. International Anti-Corruption Day being observed today

International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD) is being observed annually on 9th December to raise public awareness of corruption and what people can do to fight it.
This year International Anti-Corruption Day theme is “United Against Corruption”.
Every year USD 1 trillion is paid in bribes while an estimated USD 2.6 trillion are stolen annually through corruption.

Note:

The UN General Assembly (UNGA) had designated 9th December as International Anti-Corruption Day by passing resolution 58/4 of October 31, 2003.

Source: UN.Org

3. 9 December: International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide & of the Prevention of this Crime

The United Nations General Assembly established 9th December as the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Convention.
The purpose of the day is to raise awareness of the Genocide Convention and its role in combating and preventing the crime of genocide, as defined in the Convention, and to commemorate and honour its victims.

Source: AIR News

Appointment

4. National Stock Exchange appoints Girish Chandra Chaturvedi its chairman

Former petroleum secretary Girish Chandra Chaturvedi has been appointed as the Chairman of the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
The appointment comes within weeks of him joining the NSE board as a public interest director.
The position was vacant since Ashok Chawla resigned as the chairman of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in January this year.
Mr. Girish also serves as non-executive chairman of ICICI Bank.

Note:

The National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) (established in 1992) is the leading stock exchange of India, located in Mumbai.
NSE was the first exchange in the country to provide a modern, fully automated screen-based electronic trading system which offered the easy trading facility to the investors spread across the length and breadth of the country.

Source: Economics Times

5. Finland elects Sanna Marin, the youngest-ever Prime Minister

Finland’s ruling Social Democrats elected Sanna Marin (34-years) to the post of the prime minister (youngest head of govt in the country’s history).
Her appointment is unlikely to lead to significant policy changes by the Social Democrat-led administration.
Marin will become the world's youngest sitting prime minister.
Finland's last incumbent prime minister Antti Rinne (Social Democratic Party) had resigned on 3rd December 2019.

Note:

The prime minister is Finland's head of government and is formally appointed by the president.

Source: India Today

National Affairs

6. President Kovind 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.
Paika rebellion is 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 Brunei hills in Khurda district, Odisha.
The memorial is seen as an epitome of Odisha’s valour and will serve as an inspiration for the youth.
A chair in the name of Buxi Jagabandhu who led this revolt has been established with a Rs 5 crore grant and memorial coin and stamp issued to mark the two hundred years of the event.
The Paika Rebellion memorial which will come up in 10 acres of land will be a source of inspiration for the youths and generations to come.

7. Human Library event held in Mysuru

In Karnataka, Human Library, a concept which seeks to replace books with humans, will be held in the City of Palaces, Mysuru.
It intends to generate greater human cohesion across various social, religious and ethnic diversities.
Copenhagen, Denmark-headquartered Human Library is a registered international non-profit organization.
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.

8. India 5th worst country for people's privacy, biometric data collection

According to a new report from Britain-based tech research firm, Comparitech India is the fifth-worst country in terms of extensive and invasive use of biometric data.
India is behind China, Malaysia, Pakistan and the US.
India shares the fifth position with Taiwan, Indonesia and the Philippines, said the study.
Ireland, Portugal, Cyprus, the UK and Romania emerged as the five best countries in terms of collection, storage and use of biometric data, the results showed.

Banking & Finance

9. NTPC signs pact for Rs. 5,000-crore term loan with SBI

National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) has signed a term loan agreement for Rs. 5,000 crore with State Bank of India (SBI).
The loan facility has been extended at an interest rate linked to 3-Month 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.

State Affairs

10. Assam forms a squad to tackle human-wildlife conflicts in the state

Aiming to control the human-elephant conflicts, the Assam government launched Anti-Depedration Squads of the state forest department.
The squad would be stationed at 15 major human-wildlife conflict districts in order to mitigate the problem and to ensure the safety of both humans and wildlife.
The state forest department engaged specially trained 50 frontline staff to handle conflict situations.
The squads will be currently equipped with 150 numbers of 12 bore pump action guns, 15,000 rounds of rubber bullets and other essential items.

11. Andhra CM Jagan Mohan Reddy launches YSR LAW Nestham

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has launched 'YSR Law Nestham Scheme' at his camp office at Tadepalli.
Under this scheme, a stipend of Rs 5,000 has been credited in the accounts of beneficiary junior lawyers with the click of a button.
Lawyers thanked the Chief Minister for granting Rs 100 crore to Lawyers' Welfare Fund and for giving a stipend of Rs 5,000 to junior lawyers.

12. Punjab Cabinet approves an amendment to create rural land banks for industrial development

The Punjab Cabinet headed by Captain Amarinder Singh 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 in the city.
It was decided to further fine-tune the amendments to ensure that the Panchayats get their dues, with all decisions to be taken on a case to case basis, keeping their interests in view.
The Cabinet cleared the proposal to provide special provision for transfer of Shamlat Lands for development of industrial infrastructure projects, to be implemented by Industry Department and Punjab Small Industries & Export Corporation.

13. 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).
The ICCC has been designed to serve as the nodal point for all online data related to the Smart City applications, including CCTV-based public safety and adaptive traffic management system, smart parking system, water supply management system, pollution monitoring, property tax management system and asset management system.
It has been developed as the nerve centre to provide multifaceted online smart services to people.
The Integrated Command and Control Centre was built at the cost of 38 crore rupees.

Source: AIR News

14. Manipur CM inaugurates Imphal to Dimapur direct flight service

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh has inaugurated Imphal to Dimapur direct flight service at Imphal Airport.
The flight service which is being operated by Alliance Air would be operational thrice a week.
The flight service would further strengthen the friendly relations between Manipur and Nagaland.
This better connectivity would build deeper connections among the people of the two states.

Source: Indian Express

15. Avantee mega Food Park inaugurated in MP’s Dewas

Union Minister for food processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal inaugurated Avantee mega Food Park in Dewas in Madhya Pradesh.
This first food park of central India is spread over 51 acres and has been constructed at a cost of about 150 crore rupees.
About 5 thousand local people will get employment from this Mega Food Park.
Processing of soyabean, gram, wheat and other grains and vegetables will be done in the park. Warehouses will also be opened in Indore, Ujjain, Dhar and Agar in the next phases.

Source: AIR News

Sports

16. Former World No. 1, Caroline Wozniacki announces retirement from tennis

Danish player Caroline Wozniacki (Former world number) announced her retirement from tennis after next month's Australian Open.
The Dane (29-years) won her only Grand Slam singles title in Melbourne last year in her third major final.
She has won 30 WTA titles so far in her career, including the 2017 Tour Finals in Singapore.

Source: the guardian

17. Bangabandhu PM Hasina inaugurates Bangabandhu BPL cricket tournament

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has inaugurated the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
This is a special edition of Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament (BBPL) named after Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to celebrate his 100th birth anniversary.
A total of 7 teams are participating in the BBPL event, play 46 matches including the 4 playoff matches
The BBPL final will be held on 17^th January 2020.
This is the first time that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is organizing the Premier League matches without involving any franchise.

Source: Dhaka Tribune