Daily Current Affairs and GK | 25 and 26 December 2019

1. Good Governance Index (GGI) launched

• The good governance index was launched in New Delhi.
• The index has been designed, keeping in mind the interests of citizens.
• Under the index, the states and UTs have been divided into big states, Northeastern and hill states, and union territories.
• The good governance index is based on 10 sectors and 50 indicators. Various sectors are:
  • Agriculture and allied sector growth
  • Commerce and Industries
  • Human Resource Development
  • Public Health
  • Public Infrastructure and utilities
  • Economic governance
  • Social welfare and development
  • Judicial and public security
  • Environment
  • Citizen centric governance

• Good governance Day: The day is celebrated on December 25 annually to commemorate the birth anniversary of Shri. Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

2. Shaheed Udham Singh’s 120^th birth anniversary

• Shaheed Udham Singh’s birth anniversary is celebrated on December 26, 2019.
• Shaheed Udham Singh:
  • Udham Singh was a revolutionary born on December 26, 1899, in Punjab.
  • He is known for the assassination of Michael O' Dyer, the former lieutenant governor of Punjab who was involved in the Jalianwallah Bagh massacre in Amritsar in 1919.
  • He is also referred to as Shaheed-i-Azam Sardar Udham Singh.
  • He was later on hanged by the Britishers in London.

3. Hemant Soren, the new chief minister of Jharkhand

• Hemant Soren will take oath as the new Chief Minister of Jharkhand on December 29, 2019.
• Belonging to the JMM party, he has been elected as the representative for the post of CM by an alliance of JMM, Congress, and RJD.
• Chief Minister
  • The Chief Minister is the head of the State government.
  • The winning party or alliance choose the representative for the post of Chief Minister itself.

4. Gold medals won at National Shooting Championship in Bhopal

• At 63rd National Shooting Championship in Bhopal, Manu Bhakar and Anish Bhanwala clinched 4 golds in 10 meter women air pistol competition.
• By giving 588 shots, she equaled the record set by Anu Raj Singh in South Asian Games.
• Manu Bhaker representing Haryana won the medals in both individual and team events in both junior and senior events.
• Anish Bhanwal from Haryana won a gold in men's 25-meter rapid fire pistol event.
• Devanshi Dharma won the silver medal in senior women 10-meter air pistol event while Yashaswini Singh Deshwal bagged the bronze medal.
• Manu Bhakar and Yashaswini Singh Deshwal have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
• Anish Bhanwal

He is an Indian shooter from Haryana. In 1ssf Junior world cup in Sydney in 2018, he won the individual gold and team-based silver in 25-meter rapid-fire junior men event. In the 2019 Junior World Cup, also he won gold in a 25-meter rapid fire men event.

• Manu Bhaker

A shooter from Haryana, won the gold in 10-meter air pistol event in 2018 Commonwealth event, her maiden appearance in the Commonwealth.

5. Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaja Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai get Eat Right Station certificate

• The Eat right station certificate was awarded to the iconic station CSMT by FSSAI and has been rated with 5 stars.
• The judgment has been taken based on the availability of a healthy diet, food handling at preparation, food waste management, promotion of local and seasonal food and creating awareness on food safety and a healthy diet.
• Eat Right Movement:
  • It is a movement by FSSAI aimed at promoting the habit of ‘Eat Healthy’ and ‘Eat Safe’.
  • It aims to intervene from both demand and supply side to make food safe and healthy.
  • Eat Right Station is a part of this movement.

6. Prime minister launched Atal Jal Yojana in Lucknow

• Atal Jal Yojana aimed at improving groundwater level in 7 states was launched in Lucknow.
• The prime minister also unveiled the statue of Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Lucknow on Good Governance Day.
• The foundation stone for Atal Bihari Vajpayee Medical University was laid in Lucknow. In his speech, the prime minister emphasized preventive health care, affordable health care, supply-side intervention, and mission-mode intervention.
• The name of the Rohtang Tunnel in Himachal Pradesh has been changed to Atal Tunnel.
• The Prime Minister criticized those who are causing harm to public property while protesting against Citizenship Amendment Act 2019.
• Atal Bhujal/Jal Yojana:
  • It is a central sector scheme aimed at improving groundwater level and management by community participation by taking on panchayat- led approach.
  • It is under Jal Shakti ministry having funding of 6000 crores and a period of 5 years i.e 2020-2025.
  • The 7 states targeted under this scheme are Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.
  • Its components are institutional strengthening and capacity building and incentivizing the states to improve groundwater management techniques like data collection and dissemination.
  • Out of the total funding, Rs. 6000 crore is to be given by the World Bank as a loan.

7. Cabinet approves updation of National Population Register (NPR) and conduct of Census of India 2021

• The updation process of NPR and the conduct of census 2021 has been approved by the cabinet.
• The census will be conducted in two phases and will be app-based.
• The House listing and Housing Census will be conducted from April to September 2020 and the population enumeration is to be carried from February 9, 2020, to February 28, 2020.
• No proof or document is needed for the NPR as it is different from the National Register of citizens.
• National Population Register:
  • Starting from 2010 the register collects the demographic details of all those who have been residing in India for six months or have plans to stay in India for the next 6 months.
  • The NPR would be conducted under Registrar General and Ex-officio Census Commissioner, India.
  • The process will be carried out all over India except Assam, as the state has already gone through the NRC process.
  • It is different from NRC as it seeks to update the list of the residents of India or persons living in India. Unlike NRC, it is not proof of citizenship.
• Census of India:
  • The census is done by the Registrar General and census commissioner of India under Home ministry.
  • The first census was conducted in 1872 under Lord Mayo and the organized census was conducted in 1881. Since then, the census is conducted every 10 years to make out the estimate of the population in India along with other related aspects.
  • The last census was conducted in 2011.
  • 2021 census will be 16^th from 1872 and 8^th from 1951 census, the first census of independent India.

8. Bharatnet will bring free Wi-fi service to all the villages by March 2020

• Under the Bharatnet program, all the villages (2,50,000) would be provided with free wi-fi services by 2022.
• 30,000 villages have already been provided with wi-fi connectivity. The government has the target to connect at least 15% in the next 4 years i.e. by 2024.
• Bharatnet Project:
  • It is the rebranding of the National Optical Fiber Network (2011) or Bharatnet (2015).
  • The aim of the project is to connect 2,50,000 villages through free wi-fi services.

Multiple Choice Questions(MCQs)

1. Census of India is conducted under

1. Home Ministry
2. Social Justice ministry
3. Ministry of Statistics and Program implementation
4. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

2. The Atal tunnel is located in

1. Himachal Pradesh
2. Uttrakhand
3. Uttar Pradesh
4. Jammu and Kashmir

3. Eat Right Campaign is an initiative by

1. FSSAI
2. National Institute of Nutrition
3. National Health Authority
4. National Nutrition Council

4. 2021 census will be the _______census of independent India.

1. 8^th
2. 9^th
3. 10^th
4. 11^th

5.  Anish Bhanwal is related to which of the following sport?

1. Shooting
2. Archery
3. Shotput
4. Weight Lifting

6. Jalianwallah Bagh incident took place on

1. 1919
2. 1918
3. 1917
4. 1916

7. Good governance day is celebrated on the birth anniversary of

1. Jai Prakash Narayan
2. Atal Bihari Vajpayee
3. Deen Dayal Upadhaya
4. Madan Mohan Malviya

8. Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the statue of Atal Bihari Vajpayee in which of the following city?

1. Indore
2. Lucknow
3. Patna
4. Varanasi

9. Under the Bharatnet program, all villages will be provided free wi-fi services by____.

1. March 2025
2. March 2022
3. March 2023
4. March 2020

Solution:

1. a)

2. b)

3. a)

4. a)

5. a)

6. a)

7. b)

8. b)

9. d)