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Daily Current Affairs for Prelims | PT Exam
Today Current Affairs: 10th December 2019 for UPSC IAS exams, State PSC exams, SSC CGL, State SSC, RRB, Railways, Banking Exam & IBPS, etc.
1. 10th December: International Human Rights Day.
Every year 10th December is celebrated as international human rights day across the world.
The theme for the 2019 Human rights day: “Youth Standing Up For Human Rights”.
The 2019 edition of the day will celebrate the youth as agents of change and will encourage them to amplify their voices against hate speech, discrimination, racism, bullying, etc
About International Human Rights Day:
10th December is selected to celebrate human rights day because on this date in 1948 the UNiversal Declaration of Human Rights(UDHR) was adopted and proclaimed by United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) to protect human rights across the globe.
2. Paris Summit:
In news: At a Paris summit mediated by Germany and France, Russia and Ukraine agreed to restore peace by implementing a ceasefire.
On Dec 9, 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Ukraine president Zelinsky agreed to a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine by the end of 2019. the countries also pledge to disengage military forces in other three additional regions of Ukraine by the end of March 2020.
3. UNDP report:India ranks 129 in Human Development Index.
The United Nations development program releaded the human development index for 189 countries on December 9, 2019. the rankings were listed by the report titled”Beyond income, beyond average, beyond today: Inequalities in human development in the 21st century.
Report: the report says that around 27.1 crore people in India were lifted out of poverty between the time period 2005-06 and 2015-16. India ranked 122 in the gender development index.
India ranked 129 among them, which is one rank ahead of its previous position. in 2018 India ranked 130.
About UNDP: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations (UN) organization formed in 1965.
Aim: to help countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable human development, an approach to economic growth that emphasizes improving the quality of life of all citizens while conserving the environment and natural resources.
About Human Development index:
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical tool used to measure a country’s overall achievement in its social and economic dimensions.
The HDI measures average achievement in three basic dimensions of human development:
- life expectancy
- education
- per capita income
4. Arms(amendment) bill,2019:
The bill seeks to amend the Arms Act,1959.
Features:
- License for acquiring firearms: under the act, a license must be obtained to acquire, possess or carry any firearms. the bill reduces the number of permitted firearms from three to one.
- Ban on firearms: the bill prohibits procuring unlicensed firearms.
- Increase in punishment: the bill increases the punishment to imprisonment between seven and 14 years for carrying of prohibited ammunition without a license.
5. Pashu Kisan Credit Cards:
The first Pashu Kisan credit card in India was distributed to 101 animal farmers in Bhiwani in Haryana.
About the scheme: Under the scheme, banks give Rs 40783 for a cow and rs 60249 for a buffalo. the credit amount for goat and sheep is rs 4063. in the case of the pig, it is 16337, for hens, it is 720 rs per layer and 161 per boiler hen.
The card is along lines of the Kisan credit card scheme and will allot credit according to the choice of animals the person wants.
6. Unites States shut down WTO appeal court:
The appeal court of the world trade organization that acts as the trade dispute settlement body for the members was shut down by the united states on December 9, 2019. the seven-member body that was cut down to a 3-member body in 2018 is now completely blocked by unites states.
Without WTO appellate body, the dispute settlement will return to the pre-1995 GATT status quo.
About WTO appellate: The Appellate Body was established in 1995 under Article 17 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU).
It is a standing body of seven persons that hears appeals from reports issued by panels in disputes brought by WTO Members.
7. Parliament passes the recycling of ships bill,2019.
On 9 December 2019, Parliament passes the landmark “the recycling of ships bill 2019” for safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships in India.
Features:
- It joins together the existing shipbreaking code(revised),2013 and the provisions of the hong kong convention,2009. thereby now the ships to be recycled in India will need to obtain a “ready for recycling certificate” in accordance with the hong kong convention.
- The protection of the environment and the safety of workers are the souls of this bill
- The bill will adequately address various environmental issues and workers’ safety concerns interconnected with the ship recycling industry.
About ship recycling:
Ship recycling is the process of dismantling the ship that happens at the end of its life. It includes all the associated operations including mooring, dismantling, recovery of materials and reprocessing.
8. Kannadigas to get priority in the private sector:
The Karnataka government has amended rules directing industrial establishments that have taken any support from the government to give priority to Kannadigas in jobs on the shop floor in “C” and “D” category of employees
Key facts:
The industries getting incentives from the government must provide 100 percent reservation in their blue-collared jobs and those not availing any benefits are required to accord priority to Kannadigas.
The revised rules also empower the state to intervene if private companies fail to implement the rules in letter and spirit.
9. Creamy Layer principle in SC, ST quota for promotion:
The central government has asked the Supreme Court of India to refer to a seven-judge Bench the question whether the creamy layer concept should apply (or not) to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes while giving them reservation in promotions.
About Creamy Layer:
The creamy layer’ first finds expression in the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment in Indra Sawhney versus Union of India, delivered by a nine-judge Bench on November 16, 1992.
‘Creamy layer’ are “some members of a backward class who are highly advanced socially as well as economically and educationally.
10. International Financial Services Centres Authority Bill, 2019:
The International Financial Services Centres Authority Bill, 2019 is likely to be taken up by Parliament for discussion next week.
What is an IFSC?
An IFSC enables bringing back the financial services and transactions that are currently carried out in offshore financial centers by Indian corporate entities and overseas branches/subsidiaries of financial institutions (FIs) to India by offering business and regulatory environment that is comparable to other leading international financial centers in the world like London and Singapore.
11. FrogPhone:
It is the world’s first solar-powered remote survey device that can be installed at any frog pond and which receives a 3G or 4G cellular network.
Features:
- The FrogPhone will allow researchers to dial these devices remotely and analyze the data later.
- It will reduce costs and risks, including the negative impact of human presence on the field site.
- These devices also allow for monitoring of local frog populations more frequently than before, which is important because these populations are recognized as indicators of environmental health.
12. ‘Livestock Census’:
The Government has released the Key Results (Provisional) of 20th Livestock Census, 2019.
As per the Key Results (Provisional) of 20th Livestock Census-2019, the Cattle population has increased to 192.52 million in 2019 from 190.90 million in 2012. The detailed State-wise Cattle population is annexed.
13.National Institute of Animal Health:
The erstwhile Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying, and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, GOI (now Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying) has established National Institute of Animal Health with the following mandate:
- To act as a nodal institute to recommend licensing of veterinary vaccines in the country.
- To make available facilities for quality control of veterinary vaccines and diagnostics.
- To make available standards for veterinary biologicals and diagnostics.
14. Statement of Union Environment Minister at UNFCCC COP25:
The Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Shri Prakash Javadekar delivered India’s Statement at the 25th session of Conference of Parties under the UN Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC COP25), in Madrid, Spain today.
Daily Important Current Affairs one-liner:
- Walmart to train 50,000 MSME entrepreneurs.
- Abu Dhabi selected as the world’s leading sports tourism destination at 26th edition of the world travel award(WTA) being held in Muscat,Oman.
- Worldwide Arms sale rise by nearly 5% in 2018.
- Rafale jet tail numbers to feature former Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa
- UAE, US joint miliatry exercise “iron union 12” commences.
- WADA(World Anti Doping Agency) bans Russia from International sporting events for 4 years.
- In order to secure the CPEC sea route, China and Pakistan have signed a deal to build drones with maximum payload of 480 kg, with a top speed of 370 km per hour and can fly up to 20 hours. The drones are called Loong II. These drones are similar to the MQ-9 Reaper drones developed by the US.
- Digital Exhibition on History of Constitution of India’, was inaugurated in New Delhi by Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region.
- India and France are to launch a joint naval patrolling mission after the Varuna Naval Exercise that was held in May 2019. The joint mission is to be executed in the Indian Ocean Region to protect the strategic interests of the countries and to check large scale illegal fishing. The Joint Patrol mission is to start in 2020.
- The Minister of State for Culture and Tourism Prahlad Patel informed Parliament that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has identified 138 monuments as ‘Must-See Monuments’. This information has been made available on the ‘Must See’ portal of ASI.
- The India Skills Report was released jointly by the CII (Confederation of Indian Industry), AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education), UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) and AIU (Association of Indian University). The report provides the employability of citizens in the country across the states and. The report also ranked the cities based on the availability of employment. Maharashtra topped the list with the highest employable talent.
- Draj Bridge for all-weather connectivity inaugurated in J&K’s Rajouri
- India & Australia hold a third 2+2 dialogue in New Delhi.
- A memorandum of understanding has been signed between National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) and Suadi Aramco (Asia) for the development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Ecosystem in India in Oil & Gas Sector.
This is all for today’s current affairs.
