13 December 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

13 December 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. Shrikant Madhav Vaidya to be new Chairman of IOC

• Shrikant Madhav Vaidya (56-years) has been appointed as the chairman of the country’s largest commercial enterprise Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) for just over three years.
• Mr. Vaidya will replace Sanjiv Singh who retires as Chairman of the company at the end of June next year.
• Mr. Vaidya is at present the director of Refineries at the IOCL.
• Mr. Vaidya will be first screened by anti-corruption bodies CVC and CBI before his candidature is put before the Cabinet Committee on Appointments headed by Prime Minister for approval.

Note:

• Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) is an Indian state government-owned oil and gas company headquartered in New Delhi.
• IOC (including its group companies) is the country's top refiner with a group refining capacity of 80.7 million tonnes per annum or 161.4 million barrels per day.

Source: Times of India

National Affairs

2. National Tribal Dance Festival to be held in Raipur

• A three-day National Tribal Dance Festival will be held in Raipur, Chhattisgarh (from 27 to 29 December 2019).
• Nearly 1,400 artists belonging to 151 art troupes from 23 states and guest artists from six countries including Sri Lanka, Belarus, Uganda and Bangladesh will participate in this tribal folk cultural programme.
• There are 4 different categories of dance for the competition:
  • Marriage and other rituals
  • Traditional Festivals and Rituals
  • Harvesting and Agriculture
  • Other different types of dance performed in Chhattisgarh

Source: Times of India

3. Nation pays tributes to martyrs of 2001 Parliament terror attacks

• Nation pays rich tributes to the martyrs today who laid down their lives in defence of the Parliament of India during the terrorist attack on this day in 2001.
• President, Vice President, Prime Minister several other Ministers and Members of Parliament paid floral tributes to the martyrs at the plaque in Parliament House.
• Blood Donation Camp was also organised in the Parliament premises to commemorate the supreme sacrifice of the martyrs.

Note:

• On this day (13 December 2001), two persons from the Parliament Security Service of the Rajya Sabha, five Delhi Police Personnel and a woman constable of the Central Reserve Police Force, laid down their lives while preventing the entry of terrorists inside the Parliament House Building.
• A gardener of CPWD also lost his life in the attack.

Source: AIR News

4. Inner Line Permit regime extended to Manipur

• The Inner Line Permit (ILP) regime has been extended to Manipur. 
• President Ram Nath Kovind signed an order in this regard.
• Manipur is the fourth state after Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram where the ILP regime has been made applicable.
• To visit the ILP-regime states, outsiders, including people from other states of the country, need to take permission.

Note:

• Inner Line Permit (ILP) is an official travel document issued by the Government of India to allow inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected area for a limited period.
• It is obligatory for Indian citizens from outside those states to obtain a permit for entering into the protected state.

5. Puducherry government unveils start-up policy

• The Puducherry government unveiled a start-up policy.
• The objective of the policy to create a corpus fund of Rs. 10 crores to support the setting up of start-up incubators and to develop co-working spaces.
• The department plans to provide a grant of Rs. 3 lakhs to projects recommended by incubators established by the government/private sector/academic institutions as a start-up grant.
• The committee of experts constituted by the government under the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Committee will approve of the projects and monitor their progress.

Note:

• A startup (or startup) is a company or project initiated by an entrepreneur to seek, effectively develop, and validate a scalable business model.

Source: The Hindu

6. 6th Indian Ocean Dialogue, Delhi Dialogue XI started in New Delhi

• External Affairs Ministry is hosting the 6th Indian Ocean Dialogue and Delhi Dialogue XI at the Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra in New Delhi.
• For the first time, these two dialogues held consecutively and on similar Indo-Pacific themes.
• The theme of 6th Indian Ocean Dialogue is "Indo-Pacific: Re-imagining the Indian Ocean through an Expanded Geography”.
• Delhi Dialogue XI has been started and run through the next day.
• The theme for this year’s Delhi Dialogue is "Advancing Partnership in Indo-Pacific”.

7. Andhra Pradesh Cabinet clears Disha Act

• Andhra Pradesh Government has approved the creation of fast-track courts in the state to curb crimes against women and children.
• It is proposed to complete the case along with the punishment within 21 days of the registration of the FIR.
• This decision was taken in the cabinet meeting held on under the chairmanship of Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy.
• Now, Andhra Pradesh will become the first state in India to give death sentences in rape cases if this bill is passed in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly.
• There is no provision in the law of the country to give the death penalty to the rape accused.

Source: Business Line

Honour & Awards

8. Space startup with AI solution to stubble burning wins ‘Space Oscar’

• The application ‘Zuri’ developed by Blue Sky Analytics (A Gurgaon-based startup) won the Copernicus Masters award, under the social entrepreneurship category.
• The award has been given by the Earth observation program managed by the European Commission in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA).
• The startup is working in utilizing satellite data to solve environmental problems and using its AI (artificial intelligence)- based tool to measure and monitor farm fires and stubble burning across India.
• It is an AI-enabled platform that uses satellite data for improved monitoring, supply chain and pricing analysis as well as an allocation of crop waste for use in other industries as raw material.

International Affairs

9. Saudi Aramco becomes most valuable listed company in history

• Saudi Aramco has secured its position as the most valuable listed company in history after investor appetite for the world’s biggest fossil fuel producer pushed its market value to USD 1.9tn on its first day of trade.
• The world’s biggest contributor to the climate crisis had been valued at more than Apple and Facebook – previously the world’s most valuable and fifth-most valuable companies respectively – combined.
• It is also twice the size of Amazon and Google's parent company, and bigger than the next five listed oil companies put together.

Source: The guardian

10. Archeological Survey of India Identifies 138 Monuments in India as ‘Must-See’

• The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has identified 138 monuments in the country as ‘must-see’.
• Those interested can see the complete list on the “must-see” portal, 'asimustsee.nic.in' of the ASI.
• The “Must See” list features a number of outstanding Indian monuments and archaeological sites, under the protection of the ASI, including some UNESCO World Heritage Sites as well.
• There are 38 World Heritage Sites in India (out of which 22 cultural sites) including monuments and caves are under ASI protection.

Note:

• The Archaeological Survey of India is an Indian government agency attached to the Ministry of Culture that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural monuments in the country.

11. Trial run on Dhaka-Gangtok, Dhaka-Darjeeling bus routes start

• Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation Chairman Ehsan Elahi has inaugurated the trial run on Dhaka-Gangtok & Dhaka-Darjeeling bus routes.
• Two buses with about 35 passengers including officials of the Road Transport department left Dhaka in the evening.
• Darjeeling and Gangtok are popular tourist destinations for Bangladeshi visitors.
• Currently, travellers to these destinations have to change bus on the India Bangladesh border before proceeding to Gangtok or Darjeeling.
• Darjeeling via Siliguri is around 450km and Gangtok about 500km away from Dhaka.
• Currently, buses operate on five cross-border routes between Bangladesh and India -- Dhaka-Kolkata-Dhaka, Dhaka-Agartala-Dhaka, Dhaka-Sylhet-Shillong-Guwahati-Dhaka, Agartala-Dhaka-Kolkata-Agartala and Dhaka-Khulna-Kolkata-Dhaka.
• In 2018, more than 22 lakh Bangladeshi tourists visited India.

Source: DD News

Science & Defence

12. INDRA 2019: India, Russia conduct a joint military exercise

• The bilateral military exercise between India and Russia ‘INDRA 2019’ started at Babina (near Jhansi), Pune and Goa.
• This military exercise is being held under the aegis of the United Nations (UN) aimed at combating terrorism and insurgency.
• The objective of this exercise is to enhance the coordination of the two armies in maintaining peace and security under the aegis of the United Nations.

Source: Indian Express

Obituaries

13. Former US Federal Reserve Chief Paul Volcker passes away

• The former chairman of the US Federal Reserve Paul Volcker (92-years) passed away at his home in New York.
• Paul Volcker is popularly known for his battles against inflation in the late 1970s and early 1980s,
• He was appointed as the chief of the US Federal Reserve in 1979.

Source: BBC

Sports

14. Rani Rampal & Saurabh Chaudhary wins Sports Person of the Year awards

• India's Rani Rampal (women’s hockey team captain) has been awarded the Sportsperson of the Year Award 2019 at the FICCI India Sports Awards 2019.
• In the male category, Asian Games gold medalist shooter Saurabh Chaudhary won the Sportsperson of the Year Award 2019.
• The awards ceremony was held at the FICCI Federation House, in New Delhi.