Current Affairs - December 24, 2019 Current Affairs

For flow of credit in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Bank of Baroda signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Gujarat government. The customers can register their request on the link available on the Gujarat government's single window portal from where Bank of Baroda will initiate further action after receiving the details.

The Quality Council of India (QCI) recently released its survey on imported toys. According to the report, 66.9% of the toys failed the test. Of the tested varieties, 30% of the plastic toys failed to meet the tests of permissible level of phthalate, heavy metals, etc. Around 80% of the toys failed to meet the physical and mechanical safety properties. In the soft toys, 45% failed on phthalate test and 75% failed on tests conducted on mechanical properties.

Nethanna Nestham scheme of providing Rs. 24,000 annual aid for handloom weavers for 5 years launched in Andhra Pradesh.

India's Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu (men's) and Hana Ramadan (women's) of Egypt win singles titles in the third leg of the HCL-SRFI India Tour Squash Tournament in Mumbai

India celebrates National Farmers Day on 23rd December to commemorate the birth anniversary of the 5th Prime Minister of India, Choudhary Charan Singh. He was a farmer's leader and he had introduced many policies to improve the lives of the Indian farmers. The day is being observed since 2001.

South African all-rounder Vernon Philander has announced his retirement plan after England test-series. He has played 97 matches in all three formats of cricket and gained 261 wickets while scored 1784 runs. He said that it is an appropriate time to retire from cricket after a long journey.

Winter Solstice this year falls on December 22.The winter solstice happens every year when the Sun reaches its most southerly declination of -23.5 degrees. In other words, it is when the North Pole is tilted farthest away from the Sun, delivering the fewest hours of sunlight of the year. The Sun is directly overhead of the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere during the December solstice and is closer to the horizon than at any other time in the year.

Shiv Das Meena assumed the charge of Chairman of Patna Metro Rail Corporation Limited (PMRC). He belongs to the 1989-Batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre and an additional secretary and CVO in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). Meena took charge of Chairman, PMRC, on December 14, 2019. He served as Chairman of NBCC (India) Limited, Joint Secretary, MoHUA, and Ministry of Urban Development, Principal Secretary Public & Rehabilitation Department, Government of Tamilnadu, and Principal Secretary to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister among others.

On December 23, 2019, the department of fisheries (GoI), NABARD and Tamil Nadu Government signed an agreement to implement Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Fund (FIDF). The tripartite agreement set a total of Rs 7522 crores to address the infrastructure requirement of fisheries sector.

Shri Narendra Modi flagged off the Vande Bharat train set on New Delhi - Varanasi route on 15th February 2019. The Train set service between New Delhi and Shri Mata Vaishnodevi Katra flagged off by Hon'ble Home Minister Shri Amit Shah on 3rd October 2019. Integral Coach Factory published for the supply of electrical equipment and other items for 44 Train sets of 16 coaches each.

On December 23, 2019, the Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO) test fired the Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM) successfully. The test was conducted at the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, Odisha.

Health officials in Eastern Congo recently documented the first relapse of current Ebola epidemic. The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has so far infected more than 3,300 people and killed more than 2,200 since the middle of 2018, making it the second-worst on record. According to World Health Organisation (WHO), this recent relapse happened in Aloya district where a motorcycle taxi operator is said to have come into contact with 33 people is potentially the cause of 11 new confirmed Ebola cases in past week.

Kakkan was born on 18 June 1907 in Madurai District of Tamil Nadu. Kakkan was drawn to the independence movement from an early stage in his life. While in school, he joined the Indian National Congress.He was sworn in as the Minister for Public Works (excluding Electricity), Harijan Welfare, Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes on 13 April 1957.

US imposes sanctions on companies building Nord Stream 2 pipeline under the Baltic Sea for transporting Russian natural gas to Germany.

The eight West African nations have agreed to change the name of their common currency from 'CFA franc' to 'Eco', after they jointly severed the CFA franc's links to former colonial ruler France. The announcement was made during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to Ivory Coast, who hailed the decision as a historic reform. Even though the deal took six months in making, common currency Eco will see the light of day in 2020.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has voiced concern over the Citizenship Amendment Act and the verdict in the Ayodhya case.The body has usually been supportive of Pakistan and often sided with Islamabad in its disputes with India. Organisation of Islamic Cooperation is an international organization founded in 1969, consisting of 57 member states.It is the second largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations. Permanent Secretariat is in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The International Conference on number theory at the SASTRA Deemed University campus at Kumbakonam and the SASTRA-Ramanujan Award to Adam Harper, Assistant Professor, University of Warwick, England. This year's SASTRA-Ramanujan Award presented to Mr. Harper for his outstanding contributions to the probabilistic number theory.

England's 1966 FIFA World Cup final goal scorer, Martin Peters dies at 76.

On December 23, 2019, the Assam Cabinet nodded to make Assamese language the state language of Assam. This will exclude BTAD (Bodoland Territorial Administrative Districts), Barak Valley and Hill districts of Assam. Article 345 says that subject to provisions of Article 346 and 347, the state legislature might adopt one or more languages to be used as official languages. Article 346 states that the states are authorized to decide on the language of communications amongst them and with the centre. However, such a language should have been authorized by the centre.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has appointed Manuel Marrero Cruz as the country's first prime minister in more than four decades (40 years). Marrero Cruz who was named prime minister for a five-year term, has served as Cuban tourism minister for 16 years. He is an architect by trade and has helped boost Cuba's economy by making tourism one of the engines of growth. The post of prime minister was scrapped in 1976 by the then-revolutionary leader and Cuba's last Prime Minister Fidel Castro.