Daily Current Affairs and GK | 08 and 09 December 2019

1. Foundation stone for Paika Rebellion memorial laid in Odisha

• The foundation stone for the Paika Rebellion memorial has been laid in Odisha by President Ram Nath Kovind.
• The memorial marks the completion of 200 years of Paika Rebellion.
• The memorial will be set up at the foothills in the Khurda district of Odisha.
• Paika Rebellion:
  • Paikas, peasant militias of the Gajpati rulers of Odisha, rose in rebellion in 1817 against the British under the leadership of Baxi Jagabandhu.
  • Paikas lost their lands after the establishment of British rule in Odisha and were heavily exploited.

2. Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana

• Till now, 799 Van Dhan Vikas Kendra has been opened in 24 states under the Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana.
• 12 lakh tribes have been benefitted through these Kendra with access to markets for selling their produce.
• Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana:
  • It was launched in April 2018 by Indian PM in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar.   
  • The scheme aims at generating livelihood for the tribal population by exploiting the wealth forest i.e. Van Dhan.
  • The implementation of Van Dhan Yojana is through the setting up of Van Dhan Vikas Kendras.

3. 18^th India-Myanmar Foreign Office Consultations

• The 18^th India-Myanmar Foreign Office Consultations was held in New Delhi.
• The Foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale and the Permanent Secretary U Soe Han led the Indian and Myanmar delegations, respectively.
• The two sides reviewed the ongoing projects in Myanmar, border cooperation, implementation of bilateral agreements, capacity building initiatives, etc.
• Myanmar:
  • It is a county located in Southeast Asia bordering India, Bangladesh, China, Laos, Thailand.
  • Capital: Naypyidaw
  • Currency: Kyat

4. ‘HAND-IN-HAND 2019’ – India-China joint training exercise

• ‘HAND-IN-HAND 2019’, a joint military exercise between India and China, has begun at Joint Training Node (JTN), Umroi, in Meghalaya.
• The exercise started with the theme of counter-terrorism under the UN mandate.
• This year, it is the eighth edition of Hand-in-Hand exercise and marks the 70^th year of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two nations.
• There will be company level Joint Training on Counter-Terrorism Operation in Semi-Urban Terrain under United Nations Mandate.
• The exercise aims at developing positive relations between the armies of the two countries.

5. Alliance Air begins its first flight operations under UDAN

• Alliance Air has formally begun its first flight operations between Guwahati to Dimapur and Imphal under the RCS-UDAN.
• Alliance Air is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India.
• The flight will operate three times a week on both routes, i.e. Guwahati to Dimapur and then to Imphal.
• Regional Connectivity Scheme-Ude Desh Ke Aam Naagrik (RCS-UDAN):
  • It is a scheme of the central government that was launched in 2017 by Indian PM from Shimla.
  • The scheme aims at providing affordable aviation services to the common man and enhances aviation connectivity between Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.
  • Airports Authority of India (AAI) is the implementing agency of this scheme.

6. Human Library Event organized in Mysuru

• Human Library Event was organized in the City of Palaces, Mysuru.
• Human Library is a concept that aims to replace books with humans.
• The event aims to break all the prejudices and stereotypes and encourage social reforms.
• Human Library is a registered international non-profit organization that was founded by Ms. K Pavithra and is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark.
• The notion of the Human Library was launched in 2000 and at present, it is spread over more than 85 countries.

7. Study shows carbon emissions from volcanic rocks can create global warming

• Geologists at the University of Birmingham have developed the model of carbon emissions changes during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM).
• Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) is a short interval of the maximum temperature 55 million years ago that lasted for about 1,00,000 years.
• The geologists calculated the greenhouse gases fluxes in relation to North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP), which is one of the Earth’s largest Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs).
• The calculations showed that the NAIP caused the largest transient global warming of the past 65 million years.
• LIPs are the very large depositions of igneous rocks created due to the travelling of magma through the crust towards the surface.

8. International Anti-Corruption Day: 9^th December

• The day is observed every year on 9th December to create awareness regarding corruption and how to fight it.
• UN General Assembly adopted a resolution 58/4 in 2003 to designate December 9 as the International Anti-Corruption Day.
• Theme- “United Against Corruption”
• India has been ranked 78 out of 180 countries in the Corruption Perception Index 2018, released by Transparency International.
• Recently, India Corruption Survey was also conducted.

9. CoP 25 to UNFCCC going on in Madrid, Spain

• Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar represented India at the Conference of Parties-25 (CoP-25) to UNFCCC being held in Madrid, Spain.
• CoP-25 is relevant as countries are prepared to shift from the pre-2020 period under the Kyoto Protocol to the post-2020 period under the Paris Agreement.
• The conference has asked its members to increase their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) till CoP-26.
• A report on Ocean “Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate” was also released at the conference.

10. An MP in Rajya Sabha for the first time spoke in Santhali

• MP Sarojni Hembram from Odisha for the first time, spoke in Santhali in Rajya Sabha.
• Santhali language:
  • It is a language of Munda subfamily of the Austroasiatic languages, which is widely spoken in Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Tripura, Odisha, Mizoram, and West Bengal.
  • It remained an oral language until Pandit Raghunath Murmu developed a writing system named Ol Chiki in 1925.
  • MP Sarojni demanded Bharat Ratna for Pandit Raghunath Murmu for his contribution to the language.
  • It is one of the recognized languages in India under the eighth schedule of the Indian Constitution.

11. Girish Chandra takes over as new Chairman of National Stock Exchange

• Girish Chandra Chaturvedi, Public Interest Director, has been appointed as the new Chairman of the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
• The seat was vacant since January after Ashok Chawla resigned from the position.
• Girish Chandra is a retired IAS officer and former Secretary to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
• National Stock Exchange:
  • It is the leading stock exchange of India that was founded in 1992.
  • It is located in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

12. Global Climate Risk Index 2020 released

• Global Climate Risk Index 2020 has been released by Germanwatch that shows a study on who suffers the most from extreme weather events and the weather-related loss events in 2018 and 1999 to 2018.
• The index assessed 181 countries and this year, it is the 15^th edition of this index.
• Japan has emerged as the most vulnerable country to climate change.
• Japan, Philippines, and Germany were the most affected countries in 2018.
• Puerto Rico, Myanmar and Haiti were the most affected countries between 1999 and 2018.
• Heatwaves were one major cause of damage in 2018.
• India ranks 5^th in the climate risk index for 2018 while it ranked 14^th in the 2017 ranking.

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

1. Paika Rebellion took place in-

1. 1857
2. 1917
3. 1817
4. 1920

2. Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana was launched in Chhattisgarh by PM Narendra Modi on the birth anniversary of _________.

1. Mahatma Gandhi
2. Bhimrao Ambedkar
3. Jawaharlal Nehru
4. Atal Bihari Vajpayee

3. Which edition of the Foreign Office Consultations was held between India and Myanmar in New Delhi?

1. 11^th
2. 15^th
3. 16^th
4. 18^th  

4. Hand-in-Hand 2019, a joint military exercise between India and China, is organized in-

1. Assam
2. Nagaland
3. Meghalaya
4. Jharkhand

5. Alliance Air, recently started its first flight operations under the UDAN scheme, which of the following places will not be connected by this flight as of now?

1. Dimapur
2. Imphal
3. Itanagar
4. Guwahati

6. Recently, where was the Human Library event organized?

1. Mysuru
2. Chennai
3. Delhi
4. Patna

7. When is International Anti-Corruption Day observed?

1. 21^st December
2. 16^th December
3. 9^th December
4. 5^th December

8. Who represented India at the Conference of Parties (CoP-25) to UNFCCC being held in Madrid, Spain?

1. Smriti Irani
2. Amit Shah
3. Prakash Javadekar
4. Gajendra Singh

9. Indian languages are recognized under which Schedule of the Indian Constitution?

1. First Schedule
2. Third Schedule
3. Fifth Schedule
4. Eighth Schedule

10. Recently who has been appointed as the new Chairman of the National Stock Exchange (NSE)?

1. Shailesh Chandra
2. Girish Chandra Chaturvedi
3. Manish Kumar
4. H P Sharma

11. India has been ranked ___ in the Global Climate Risk Index 2020, published by Germanwatch.

1. 1^st
2. 2^nd
3. 3^rd
4. 5^th

Solution:

1. c)

2. b)

3. b)

4. c)

5. c)

6. a)

7. c)

8. c)

9. d)

10. b)

11. d)