Current Affairs Quiz-December, 2019

Notes:
Steve Smith has become the fastest man to score 7,000 Test runs in the ongoing second Test against Pakistan. He broke English great Wally Hammond’s record that had stood since 1946. Smith also passed Bradman’s 6,996 Test runs.  It took Smith 70 Tests to do so, while Bradman needed only 52.

Notes:
The book titled “The Legacy of Militancy in Punjab: Long Road to Normalcy” have been authored by civil rights activist Inderjit Singh Jaijee and journalist Dona Suri. The book provide details how militancy in Punjab affected judiciary by delaying trials, how it influenced the popular culture and how the youth today are still responding to conditions in the northern state. It also aims at holding up a mirror to developments in post-militancy Punjab regarding politics, government policies, and functioning of police and courts among other things.

Notes:
H R Khan, former deputy governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been appointed as first chairman of steering committee panel on Code for Responsible Lending (CRL) in Micro-Credit. Members of panel include: P Satish of Sa-Dhan, Sonia Krishnankutty of L&T Finance, Harsh Shrivastava of MFIN and Srinivas Bonam of IndusInd Bank among others.

Notes:
A court in Suriname on November 29,2019 convicted President Desi Bouterse of murder for the execution of 15 opponents in 1982 following a coup to seize power, sentencing the man who has dominated the former Dutch colony’s recent history to 20 years in prison. Opposition parties called for Bouterse, currently in China on an official visit, to step down. The military court that found him guilty has not yet ordered his arrest.

Notes:
India will set up 12 hi-tech parks in Bangladesh at a cost of $193 million.Speaking at a business meeting in Rangpur organised by the local Chamber of Commerce and Industry, High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das said that these hi-tech parks will provide training to 30,000 youth of Bangladesh as skilled IT professionals. Responding to the issue of the trade imbalance between the two countries, Riva Ganguly Das said that diversification of the product basket of Bangladesh will help reduce the gap by increasing exports to India.

Notes:
The Indigenous Faith Day (IFD) 2019 was celebrated in Tezu, Arunachal Pradesh. The Day aims to preserve the rich culture and identity of the State. The function was presided by Tezu legislator Karikho Kri. The programme was organized by the Indigenous Faith and Cultural Society of Arunachal Pradesh (IFCSAP) of Tezu. The tribes of the district showcased their cultures in a colourful programme.

Notes:
India has successfully conducted another night trial of its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-2 missile from a mobile launcher of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Odisha coast. The successful test fires were part of a routine user trial for armed forces and met all parameters. Earlier, the flight test of surface-to-surface missile was carried out barely a 15 days after two back-to-back trials of Prithvi-2 were conducted successfully at night from same base on 20 November.
It is a tactical surface-to-surface short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) with a strike range of 350 kilometres and is capable of carrying 500-1,000 kilograms of warheads. The state-of-the-art missile is powered by liquid propulsion twin engines and uses an advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory to hit its target.

Notes:
Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment conferred Uttar Pradesh with the National Award of Excellence for doing a commendable job in the field of rehabilitation of persons with disabilities (Divyangjan). Uttar Pradesh also received the award for the best state in the implementation of Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan. The department’s website also received the award as the best portal for being disabled-friendly while Varanasi has been awarded for offering the best rehabilitation services among the districts.

Notes:
HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company launched “my health Woman Suraksha policy” to address all health-related concerns. The policy has been designed to cover women against numerous illnesses and contingencies they may face during their lifetime. The policies aim to provide financial aid in case of medical contingencies. The National Health Portal of India said that the women in India face many health issues like breast cancer, malnutrition, lack of maternal health. This policy will cover various types of cancers & related surgeries, pregnancy and neonatal complications and assaults and burns.

Notes:
Four eminent diplomats have been honoured with the ‘Diwali – Power of One’ award in recognition and of their work, especially at United Nations (UN), for a secure and peaceful world. The Winner were honoured with the ‘Power of One’ awards during a ceremony at UN Headquarters in New York, United States. The award annually honours those who have made exemplary contributions in upholding the values that the United Nations stands for.
The awards which have now come to be known as ‘Oscars of Diplomacy’ were established by Diwali Foundation USA, Inc in 2017. The awards seeks to promote a peaceful and consensus-based process to achieve societal good, as befitting high hopes and ideals of humanity enshrined in UN Charter. The co-organisers of this year Diwali Foundation USA’s Power of One awardees were- Permanent Missions of Belarus, Georgia and India to UN, along with 32 co-sponsors.