Current Affairs Daily Digest – December 14 2019
1. India to host the 36th IGC in New Delhi
India is to host the 36th International Geological Congress (IGC) in New Delhi during the first week of March 2020. It is popularly described as the Olympics of Geosciences.
In a move to boost the IGC preparation, a half-day interactive workshop was held here on 12 December. It was inaugurated by Dr. M. Rajeevan, the Secretary, Ministry of Earth, and Anil Kumar Jain, Secretary Coal & Mines.
2. TV Somanathan is appointed as expenditure secretary in the finance ministry
The government appointed TV Somanathan as an expenditure secretary in the finance ministry. Somanathan will replace Girish Chandra Murmu, who was named the first lieutenant governor of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir in October.
3. Haryana Police adopted Trakea to make forensic reports tamper-proof
Haryana Police has adopted Trakea, a unique barcoding software to make forensic reports tamper-proof. The technique will ensure the thousands of forensic reports that form the backbone of the criminal investigation system and subsequent trials in the courts of law, are not tampered with.
4. ICAR and NABARD sign MoU to develop Climate Resilient Technologies for farmers
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and National Board of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) signed Memorandum of Understanding on December 13, 2019. The agreement was signed to facilitate the research and technologies to develop climate resilient practices in the agriculture sector and hi-tech farming practices.
5. World Monkey Day is observed on December 14
Monkey Day is an unofficial international holiday celebrated on December 14. Monkey Day celebrates monkeys and “all things simian”, including other non-human primates such as apes, tarsiers, and lemurs.
6. Poland left out of EU’s 2050 climate neutrality targets
The European Union has left Poland out of a 2050 climate neutrality agreement after hours of summit haggling with three Eastern European member states that demanded more funds for economic transition and support for nuclear power.
The Czech Republic and Hungary eventually dropped their resistance after winning a guarantee on Friday that nuclear energy would be recognised as a way for EU states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Poland remained against.
7. Shrikant Madhav Vaidya to be next Indian Oil Corporation Chief
The Public Enterprise Selection Board has shortlisted Shrikant Madhav Vaidya to be the next Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. Vaidya is presently the Director (Finance) at IndianOil. He is slated to take over from Sanjiv Singh, who retires in June 2020.
8. India Skills Report finds 46.21% of students employable
About 46.21 per cent students were found employable or ready to take up jobs in 2019, compared with 33 per cent in 2014, and 47.38 per cent in 2018, according to the India Skills Report 2019-20.
Meanwhile, female employability witnessed an upward trend at 47 per cent this year from 38 per cent in 2017 and 46 per cent in 2018.
9. 6th Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) between India and Maldives
External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid co-chaired the 6th Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) between India and Maldives on December 13, 2019 in New Delhi. The two Ministers reviewed progress achieved in implementing the vast and ambitious agenda of bilateral cooperation agreed between the two countries.
10. Actor, literary figure Gollapudi Maruthi Rao dies at 80
Veteran actor and literary figure Gollapudi Maruthi Rao passed away. He was 80. The actorwriter who was ailing was admitted to a Chennai hospital where he breathed his last. His son, Gollapudi Ramakrishna, said last rites will be performed on December 15 in Chennai as some family members and relatives are expected to arrive by then.
