Current Affairs Quiz-December, 2019

Notes:
India and Sweden has joined hands to set up a healthcare innovation centre to promote research, broadly in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and help scale-up Indian start-ups in the sector. Later, AIIMS, Delhi; AIIMS, Jodhpur, and Swedish Trade Commissioner’s Office in New Delhi signed a Memorandum of Intent (MoI) to cement cooperation, to set up a healthcare innovation centre. The signing of MoI marks 10 years of India-Sweden health cooperation.

Notes:
On December 2, 2019, the Ministry of Human Resource Development informed Lok Sabha that the “Indian Ranking Society” was approved by the ministry in August 2019. The aim of the society is to develop methodologies and systems to rank higher educational institutions in the country. The proposal was approved in the 127th meeting of the AICTE Executive Council. At present, the educational institutes of the country are ranked according to the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF).

Notes:
On December 4, 2019, the Cabinet approved the launch of Bharat Bond Exchange Traded Fund (BBETF) in order to allow the investors to buy government debts. The fund will allow easy and low-cost access with the smallest amount of Rs 1000. The BBETF at its initial stages will hold basket of bonds that are issued by the public sector undertakings and other government organization bonds. It will have a maturity period of 3 to 10 years and are permitted to be traded on stock exchanges.

Notes:
K Vijay Kumar is appointed as a Senior Security Advisor in the Union Home Ministry. He will be advising the Home Ministry headed by Amit Shah on security-related matters of Union Territory of JK and Left Wing Extremism (LWE). K Vijay Kumar, 67, is a 1975-batch officer of the Indian Police Service (IPS). He served as the Director-General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Director of the National Police Academy in Hyderabad.

Notes:
Indian Government will  introduce the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in Parliament. The Bill proposes to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955. The Bill seeks to grant citizenship to undocumented non-Muslims (Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Parsi, Jain and Sikh) from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who came to India on or before December 31, 2014. Purpose of the Bill is to enable acquisition of Indian citizenship by persons who were forced to seek shelter in India due to persecution on grounds of religion. The Bill shall not apply to: Tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura as included in the sixth schedule of the Constitution.

Notes:
Leading stock exchange NSE on December 6,2019  appointed Public Interest Director Girish Chandra Chaturvedi as its new chairman. The appointment comes following the approval of the markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). The position was vacant since Ashok Chawla resigned as the chairman of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in January 2019.

Notes:
The fifth edition of “MED – Mediterranean Dialogues”, the annual high-level conference promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and ISPI (Italian Institute of International Political Studies), is held in Rome from December 5 to December 7,2019. The core of MED has not changed since the first edition put the spotlights on the positive development in the region. The event aims at drafting a “positive agenda” for the Mediterranean by stimulating debate and promoting new ideas, rethinking traditional approaches and addressing shared challenges at both the regional and the international level. The conference builds upon four pillars: Shared Prosperity, Shared Security, Migration, and Civil Society and Culture.

Notes:
Government has approved seven projects to set up Frequency Modulation (FM) transmitters in the premises of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). The announcement was made by Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar. The aim of the approval of FM transmitters is to strengthen FM coverage along the Indo-Nepal border.
The projects would be in three states namely Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. The transmitters will be set up in: Narkatiaganj (West Champaran), Bathnaha (Araria), Sitamarhi in Bihar, Champawat, Uttarakhand, Nanpara (Bahraich), Gadaniya (Lakhimpur Kheri), and Maharajganj in Uttar Pradesh.

Notes:
The Siu-Ka-Pha Award was presented to noted educationist, Botanist and folklore researcher Dr. Padmeswar Gogoi. It was presented at a programme held at Siu-Ka-Pha Samannay Kshetra in Golaghat. The award recognized his effort and contribution in the field of botany and science.
The inaugural edition of the award carried a citation, a memento, a cheleng chador and Rs.10,000. It was presented by Golaghat Deputy Commissioner Dhiren Hazarika. Gogoi donated the cash amount that was presented to him to the organizing committee to spend on activities that are done in order to promote the ideals of Chaolung Siu-Ka-Pha.

Notes:
Sree Padmavathi Venkateswara Foundation, the Vijayawada headquartered body that has been supporting research in medical education and care, has announced a grant of Rs 3 crore for research in biological and chemical sciences. Vidita Vaidya, a young scientist working at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), has secured the grant of Rs 3 crore. The TIFR scientist proposes to take up research on stress at young age leading to changes in brain and eventually leading to changes in behavioural patterns.