Current Affairs Quiz-December, 2019

Notes:
On November 28, 2019 Aditya Birla Finance became the first company to list its commercial papers borrowing of Rs 100 crore on the Indian stock exchanges. The non-banking finance company (NBFC) listed its CPs on NSE with a value date of November 28, 2019 and maturity date on February 7, 2020.

Notes:
The fish species, that has a scientific name Schistura syngkai, has been discovered in  West Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya. It was discovered at Twahdidoh stream (a tributary of Wahblei river) by a team of scientists led by Prof Khlur Mukhim of Shillong’s Lady Keane College. Both sexes of the fish have golden-brown bodies with blackish lateral stripes and slightly emarginate tail fins. Earlier, Mukhim had discovered a blind fish species that lives 1,600 feet inside a limestone cave in East Jaintia Hills district of the state.

Notes:
Eminent Malayalam poet Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri has been chosen as the recipient of the 55th Jnanpith Award for the year 2019. Born in 1926, Akkitham is one of the most revered names in Malayalam poetry. Apart from poetry, his literary excellence has footprints in genres like drama, reminiscence, critical essays, children literature, short stories and translation. He has authored 55 books out of which 45 are collections of poems including “Khanda Kavyas”, “Katha Kavyas”, “Charitha Kavyas” and songs. His works have also been translated into many Indian and foreign languages.

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:
The Indian Navy has commissioned its sixth Dornier aircraft squadron in the Porbandar town of Gujarat. It aims to give a fillip to coastal security near the sea border with Pakistan. It was commissioned by Deputy Chief of Naval Staff Vice-Admiral M S Pawar. Dornier aircraft squadron: The Indian Naval Air Squadron 314 is called Raptors. It will operate with four newly-inducted, next-generation Dornier aircraft.

Notes:
The Government of India has proposed increasing the fine for illegal and improper use of national emblems for commercial gains from Rs.500 to Rs.1 lakh. It also suggested change also includes jail time and a fine of Rs.5 lakh for repeat offenders. The aim is to crack down on their misuse. The Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 of India prohibits the misuse of the national flag, the Ashoka Chakra, the official seal of the President or Governor, the coat-of-arms used by a government department, the pictorial representation of Mahatma Gandhi and the Prime Minister.

Notes:
Steve Smith on November 30,2019 became the fastest man to score 7,000 Test runs, shattering a record that had stood since 1946, while moving past Donald Bradman to become Australia’s 11th highest scorer. The 30-year-old took a single off Muhammad Musa during the second Test against Pakistan in Adelaide to reach the milestone and take possession of a record held for 73 years by English great Wally Hammond. Hammond reached the mark in 131 innings, while Smith, who played his first Test nine years ago, made the grade in his 126th. India’s Virender Sehwag is the third fastest in 134 innings.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has referred Dewan Housing Finance Corp. Ltd (DHFL) to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for insolvency proceedings, making it the first financial services player to go NCLT for a possible debt resolution. DHFL has a debt of Rrs.83,873 crore. As per the statutory inspection of DHFL conducted by the National Housing Bank, the DHFL showed a serious deterioration in its finances. It had public deposits of Rs.6,188 crore as on 6 July 2019, down from Rs.10,166.72 crore as on 31 March 2018.
RBI has filed an application for initiation of corporate insolvency resolution process against DHFL under Section 227 of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016 read with Rules 5 and 6 of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Rules, 2019.

Notes:
International Book Fair is the biggest book fair in the Spanish-speaking world. This is the 33rd edition of Guadalajara International Book Fair and will continue till 8 December, 2019. India is the ‘Guest of Honour Country’ in this book fair and it becomes the first Asian country to participate as ‘Guest of Honour’ in the Fair. The National Book Trust (NBT), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) Government of India, is participating as the nodal agency of the Government in this book fair.

Notes:
Senior officer Hari Mohan on December 1 took charge as the chairman of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB). He succeeded Saurabh Kumar who superannuated from the services. He is a 1982-batch Indian Ordnance Factories’ Service (IOFS) officer with a post-graduate degree in mechanical engineering. In a career spanning 39 years, Mohan has contributed significantly at various positions in Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) Haridwar, Vehicle Factory Jabalpur, Engine Factory Avadi, Heavy Vehicle Factory Avadi, Ammunition Factory Khadki, Ordnance Factory Bolangir (Odisha), Ordnance Factory Chanda and Ordnance Factory Dehu Road, Maharashtra, OFB New Delhi Office and Ministry of Steel & Mines.