Daily Current Affairs and GK | 14 December 2019

1. Ravi Mittal appointed as the new Information and Broadcasting Secretary

• Ravi Mittal, a 1986 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre, has been appointed as the Information & Broadcasting Secretary.
• He is currently serving as the Special Secretary in the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance.
• Other appointments:
  1. Sushil Kumar - Mines Secretary
  2. Praveen Kumar - Secretary in Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
  3. Rajesh Bhushan- Secretary in Department of Rural Development
  4. Sunil Kumar- Secretary in Ministry of Panchayati Raj

2. British Prime Minister wins General Elections

• Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of Britain, won the general elections in the UK after his Conservative Party gained more than 326 seats required for a majority in the Parliament.
• The opposition Labour party is predicted to get 203 seats.
• Boris Johnson will move forward with Brexit, a term used for Britain's exit from European Union.
• European Union:
  • European Union is a political and economic union of 28 countries.
  • Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium

3. 7^th Economic Census launched in New Delhi

• The Seventh Economic Census has been launched in New Delhi.
• NCT of Delhi is the 26^th region of India where the survey has been launched while the process is going on in 20 states and 5 UTs.
• The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has collaborated with CSCs to conduct this survey.
• It is for the first time that the entire census is being carried out digitally with the use of an application to ensure high accuracy and data security.
• The first economic census was held in 1978.
• The seventh Census will be conducted by over 1.5 lakh trained enumerators and will provide information regarding the clusters of economic activities, ownership pattern, geographical spread, etc.

4. President signs order to include the Manipur in Inner Line Permit Regime

• Indian President Ram Nath Kovind has signed an order to include Manipur under the Inner Line Permit Regime.
• Manipur is the fourth state to be brought under this regime. The other three states are Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Mizoram.
• Inner Line Permit is a travel document that is issued by the government to the outsiders (including people from other states) to enter into the specific region included under this regime.
• Manipur has been brought under this regime to exclude it from the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019.

5. Trial run on Dhaka-Gangtok and Dhaka-Darjeeling bus routes begins

• The trial run on Dhaka-Gangtok and Dhaka-Darjeeling bus routes had begun.
• Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation Chairman Ehsan Elahi inaugurated the trial run.
• The direct bus service to Gangtok and Darjeeling, popular tourist destinations for visitors from Bangladesh, will provide a seamless travelling experience.
• Gangtok in Sikkim and Darjeeling in West Bengal are around 450km and 500 km away from Dhaka, respectively.
• At present, the buses operate on 5 cross border routes between India and Bangladesh:
  • Dhaka-Kolkata-Dhaka
  • Dhaka-Agartala-Dhaka
  • Dhaka-Sylhet-Shillong-Guwahati-Dhaka
  • Agartala-Dhaka-Kolkata-Agartala
  • Dhaka-Khulna-Kolkata-Dhaka

6. Indian Greta: Licypriya Kangujam

• Licypriya Kangujam, Indian Greta, asked the global leaders to take quick action to save the earth and future of the young generation during the COP-25 to UNFCCC in Madrid, Spain.
• She is an 8-year-old young activist from Manipur who has already spoken on climate change in 21 nations.
• She has been recognized as ‘Greta’ of the Global South by the Spanish newspapers.

7. DISHA Bill approved by Andhra Pradesh cabinet

• Disha Bill, also known as the Andhra Pradesh Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, has been approved by the cabinet of Andhra Pradesh.
• The bill provides for stringent punishment for those who did heinous crimes against women.
• The guilty will be tried under section 354 of the IPC and will be given 10 to 14 years of imprisonment for the sexual attack on children.
• The cabinet has also approved setting up special courts under the Women and Children Act, 2019 which will deal with cases under the POCSO Act.

8. Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019 passed in Rajya Sabha

• The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019 has been passed by Rajya Sabha.
• The bill amends Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 to include three tribes in the list of Scheduled Tribes in Karnataka.
• These tribes are Parivara, Talwara and Siddi of Dharwad and Belagavi districts. The Siddi tribe of Uttar Kannada district is already included in this list.

 9. Poland opted out of EU’s Climate Neutrality Plan 2050 Plan

• Poland has opted out of European Union’s Climate Neutrality 2050 Plan due to the increase in demand for funds by the EU to support nuclear power projects and economic transition.
• Poland meets 80% of energy demand via coal requested the countries to extend the deadline for the execution of the plan to 2070, but the major players refused.
• Climate Neutrality Plan is an initiative under the Paris Agreement for net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050. 
• Climate Neutrality means that emissions will not impact the climate negatively.

10. FICCI India Sports Awards 2019 presented at New Delhi

• FICCI India Sports Awards 2019 were given away at New Delhi to recognize the contribution of sportspersons and other stakeholders who gave outstanding performances this year. 
• The winners of FICCI India Sports Awards 2019 are as follows:

1. Sports Person of the Year:

• Female- Rani Rampal (women’s hockey team captain)
• Male: Saurabh Chaudhary (ace pistol shooter)

2. Best National Sports Federation: National Rifle Association of India
3. Best Para-athlete: Sandeep Chaudhary (javelin).
4. Breakthrough Sports Person: Amit Panghal (boxing)
5. Lifetime Achievement: Pankaj Advani (cue sport)
6. Best State promoting sports: Odisha
7. Best Sports Journalist: Kamesh Srinivasan

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

1. Who has been appointed as the Secretary in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship?

1. Praveen Kumar
2. Raghuveer Singh
3. Sunil Kumar
4. Ravi Mittal

2. Boris Jhonson has been elected as the Prime Minister of which of the following countries?

1. Lithuania
2. Britain
3. South Africa
4. Sweden

3. When was the Economic Census conducted for the first time in India?

1. 1988
2. 1956
3. 1978
4. 1965

4. Recently which of the following northeastern states has been brought under the Inner Line Permit Regime?

1. Assam
2. Tripura
3. Meghalaya
4. Manipur

5. Recently the trial run for buses was conducted from which of the following neighboring countries to Gangtok and Darjeeling?

1. Nepal
2. Bhutan
3. Bangladesh
4. Myanmar

6. Licypriya Kangujam, known as Indian ‘Greta’, belongs to which of the following Indian states?

1. Assam
2. West Bengal
3. Meghalaya
4. Manipur

7. The Andhra Pradesh cabinet has recently approved the DISHA bill. The bill is related to-

1. Employment
2. Pension for senior citizens
3. Education for the children in the age group 6-14 years
4. Punishment for rape accused

8. Parivara, Talwara and Siddi Tribes, recently in news, are the tribes of which of the following Indian States?

1. Karnataka
2. Uttar Pradesh
3. Rajasthan
4. Kerala

9. Which of the following countries has pulled out of the EU’s Climate Neutrality Plan 2050?

1. Greece
2. Paris
3. Poland
4. Italy

10. Who has been awarded the FICCI India Sports Awards 2019 in the Best Sports Journalist category?

1. Kamesh Srinivasan
2. Rajesh Mishra
3. S Vijayshankar
4. K N Sen

Solution:

1. a)

2. b)

3. c)

4. d)

5. c)

6. d)

7. d)

8. a)

9. c)

10. a)