Table of Contents
Daily Current Affairs for Prelims | PT Exam
Today Current Affairs: 11th December 2019 for UPSC IAS exams, State PSC exams, SSC CGL, State SSC, RRB, Railways, Banking Exam & IBPS, etc.
1. Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019:
The Lok Sabha passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019.
About:
The bill amends The Citizenship Act, 1955 which regulates who may acquire Indian citizenship and on what grounds.
The Bill seeks to grant Indian Citizenship to persons belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have migrated to India after facing persecution on grounds of religion in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.
The Bill makes applicants belonging to the said communities from the aforesaid countries eligible for citizenship by naturalization if they can establish their residency in India for 5 years instead of the existing 11 years.
The provisions of the amendments to the Act would not apply to the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram or Tripura as included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution and the area covered under ‘The Inner Line’ notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873. Manipur would be brought under the ILP regime.
2. Section 79 Of The IT Act of 2000:
The Supreme Court held that internet intermediaries like Google cannot be protected from criminal defamation cases registered against them prior to October 27, 2009.
About:
It was on October 27, 2009, that Parliament amended the Information Technology Act of 2000 to protect online intermediaries from liability for criminally defamatory content published in them by third parties.
The amended Section 79 of the 2000 Act provided that “an intermediary shall not be liable for any third party information, data, or communication link made available or hosted by him.”
The amendment gave almost blanket protection to intermediaries from legal action under Section 499/500 (criminal defamation) of the Indian Penal Code.
3. Gandhi Encyclopedia:
Minister of Culture and Tourism informed Rajya Sabha that the Government is developing ‘Gandhi Encyclopedia’ to spread awareness in the society.
About:
Ministry of Culture has approved a project for the development of Gandhi Pedia by the National Council of Science Museums, Kolkata.
It is being developed for the promotion of appropriate Gandhian philosophy and thoughts through social media platforms under the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi commemoration
It is being developed with the financial assistance of Rs. 5.25 crore.
4. Interest Rate Options:
National Stock Exchange (NSE) has launched interest rate options on 10-year Government bonds. Rival bourse BSE launched trading in interest rate options based on government securities in August this year.
About:
Interest rate options are financial derivative contracts whose values are based on an underlying interest rate. Market participants can use options to trade and hedge interest rate risk on a transparent platform.
5. Land Boundary Agreement (LBA):
More than four years after the historic Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) between India and Bangladesh, a report released by civil rights organizations on the situation in erstwhile enclaves states that protest and resistance have become an essential part of their survival in India.
What’s the issue now?
The situation has not improved. There are marked continuities in the problems that existed in the pre-LBA years, although the nature and context of the problems have perceptibly changed.
On India’s part, the spotlight has now shifted from the identity crisis faced by erstwhile enclave dwellers in the pre-LBA situation, to issues of poor governance, as well as conflict of interest between the Centre and the state in the post-LBA years.
About the Land boundary agreement:
Under the Land Boundary Agreement between, the Bangladeshi enclaves in India and Indian enclaves in Bangladesh were transferred on July 31, 2015.
The agreement involved handing over 17,000 acres of land to Bangladesh in return for 7,000 acres in 162 enclaves in West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, and Meghalaya.
6.Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana:
Senior Citizens, belonging to BPL category and suffering from any of the age-related disability/infirmity Low vision, Hearing impairment, Loss of teeth and Locomotor disability.
Assisted-living devices which can restore near normalcy in their bodily functions, overcoming the disability/infirmity manifested. They are free-of-cost.
7. Skills Build Platform:
India is the 4th country where this Skills Build platform has been launched on 4th Nov’19.
About Skills Build Platform:
It is a digital platform developed by IBM enabling holistic learning and aligning it with the Skills India initiative by the Government of India.
Launched by Directorate General of Training (DGT), under the aegis of Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
As part of the program, a two-year advanced diploma in IT, networking and cloud computing, co-created and designed by IBM, will be offered at the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) & National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs).
8. NAVARMS-19: International Seminar on Naval weapon Systems:
The fourth edition of the International Seminar cum Exhibition on Naval Weapon Systems ‘NAVARMS-19’ is scheduled to be held on 12-13 December 2019 at Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA), Development Enclave, New Delhi.
- The theme for the 2019 edition is: “Make in India – Fight Category: Opportunities and Imperatives”.
About NAVARMS:
It is the only international seminar and exhibition on Naval Weapon Systems conducted in India. It invites all the stakeholders in the life cycle management of Naval Weapons and provides a common platform to share their views and concerns. The past three editions of NAVARMS were organized in 2007, 2010 and 2013.
9. 2019 South Asian Games concluded in Nepal: India finishes on top.
- South Asian Games 2019 concluded on 10 December in Nepal
- With India finishing on top with a best-ever medal haul of 312 medals comprising of 174 gold, 93 silver, and 45 bronze.
- Host Nepal remained second and Sri Lanka got third place in the regional multi-sporting.
- The year 2019 marks the 13th edition of South Asian Games.
10. CCPI Index, COP25: India among top 10 countries:
The Climate Change Performance Index was presented. The Index measures renewable energy share, emissions and climate policies of 57 countries and the European Union.
India ranked 9th in the ranking provided. The ranking was to the “high category”, where the countries have ambitious 2030 targets.
11. IUCN adds 1840 new species to the Red List of Threatened Species:
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) added about 1,840 new species to its updated “Red List of Threatened Species”, a catalog of plants and animals that risk extinction. The list now contains over 30,000 species under threat of disappearing.
About the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN):
- It is an international organization that works in the field of conservation of nature and sustainable use of natural resources. This membership Union is composed of both government and civil society organizations.
- IUCN is best known for its compiling and publishing of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, which assesses the conservation status of species worldwide.
12. Employability of graduates increased by nearly 50 percent in 2019 in India:
The India Skills Report said that nearly half of the professional degree holders are employable now. The report was released by Wheebox, People Strong, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
Survey highlights:
- Earlier, nearly 70% of the professional degree holders were found to be unemployable.
- The report said that there is an overall positive trend in talent supply.
- Nearly 47% of the students who were surveyed are found to be employable or ready to take-up jobs in 2019.
13. Abiy Ahmed Ali received the Nobel Peace Prize:
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali received the Nobel Peace Prize on 10 December 2019 at Oslo’s City Hall. The Norwegian Nobel Committee conferred the 100th Nobel Peace Prize to the Prime Minister in the presence of the Norwegian royal family.
Awarded for: Abiy Ahmed was awarded for his extraordinary efforts to end the decades-long conflict with neighboring Eritrea.
14. Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill was tabled in Lok Sabha:
External affairs minister S. Jaishankar introduced the Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill 2019 at Lok Sabha. The bill seeks to provide for stringent punishment, including the death penalty or life imprisonment, to those involved in piracy at sea
Reason: The Bill was introduced after 18 Indians aboard a crude oil carrier were kidnapped off the coast of Nigeria. India is still negotiating to release the kidnapped nationals.
Aim: The Bill was introduced with an aim to promote safety and security.
15. Iron Union 12:
A joint military exercise between ground forces of United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United States, commenced on 10 December 2019 in presence of UAE Commander of Land Forces Major General Saleh Mohamed Saleh Al Amiri and Commander of US Army Central (USARCENT) Lieutenant General Terry Ferrell.
It is aimed at enhancing combat efficiency and tactical expertise between the two countries.
Daily Important Current Affairs one-liner:
- The Centre approved allowances worth Rs.4,800 crore for 4.5 lakh of its employees in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh under the 7th Pay Commission.
- Four people won the Right Livelihood Award for the year 2019. The awardees are Greta Thunberg, Aminatou Haidar, Guo Juanmei and Davi Kopenawa Yanomami.
- Wasim Jaffer, the former India opener, became the first player in Indian cricket to feature in 150 Ranji matches.
- The Russian Federation Navy (RuFN) Ships namely Yaroslav Mudry, Viktor Konetsky, and Elyna, have arrived in Goa to participate in the second edition of a tri-services exercise INDRA 2019. The exercise was held between the armed forces of India and Russia.
- Exercise Iron Union 12 commenced on 10 December 2019. It is a joint military exercise between the ground forces of the UAE and the United States.
- National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) appointed Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty as the brand ambassador for the agency in New Delhi.
- Switzerland is to serve as a partner for BioAsia 2020 has scheduled to be held between 17-19 February 2019 in Hyderabad, Telangana.
- The Asom Natya Sanmilan has announced the annual awards of Asom Natya Sanmilan Award-2019 is Nandeswar Saikia Auditorium, Nalbari, Assam.
- Ministry of Culture launched the Indian Culture web portal in New Delhi. It was launched by the State for Culture and Tourism (IC), Shri Prahlad Singh Patel.
- The government has prepared a roadmap to get India into the top 50 countries in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings.
- India, the Maldives to review bilateral cooperation at Joint Commission Meeting.
- The Odisha State government has planned to set up 45 fast-track special courts (FTSC) in the State. It aims to ensure speedy trial of cases involving a crime against women and children.
- Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar said that India has reduced the emissions intensity of its GDP, that is emissions per unit of GDP, by 21% at the 25th session of Conference of Parties (COP-25) under the UN Framework Convention of Climate Change.
- International Mountain Day is observed on 11 December. The day aims to raise awareness about conserving the mountains. A report says that 15% of the world’s population lives in the mountains. It is necessary to conserve the mountains.
- External affairs minister S. Jaishankar introduced the Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill 2019 at Lok Sabha. The bill seeks to provide for stringent punishment, including the death penalty or life imprisonment, to those involved in piracy at sea.
Reason: The Bill was introduced after 18 Indians aboard a crude oil carrier were kidnapped off the coast of Nigeria. - The first fully electronic flight in the world completed its test flight successfully on December 10, 2019. The flight is to operate from Vancouver, Canada to the nearby islands.
- India-Japan meets to review the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
This is all for today’s current affairs.
