Most Important Current Affairs
Atal Bhujal Yojana launched by Government of
India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched Atal
Bhujal Yojana (ATAL JAL) which aims to improve
groundwater management. The scheme has been
designed with the principal objective of strengthening the institutional framework for
It aims to bring behavioral changes at the community participatory groundwater management.
level for sustainable groundwater resource
The scheme will promote panchayat led ground management in 7 States: Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
water management and behavioural change with
The Government has outlaid Rs. 6000 crore for the primary focus on demand side management.
scheme. Out of the total outlay of Rs. 6000 crore to
be implemented over a period of 5 years (2020-21
to 2024-25), 50% shall be in the form of World
Bank loan, and to be repaid by the Central
The remaining 50% shall be through Central Government.
Assistance from regular budgetary support. The
entire World Bank’s loan component and Central
Assistance will be passed on to the States as Grants. Nadal and Barty named 2019 ITF World Champions
Ashleigh Barty and Rafael Nadal were named
International Tennis Federation’s (ITF) World
Champions in singles for 2019. The awards will be
given at the 2020 ITF world champions 2nd June, in
Paris. CATEGORY WINNER
Men Singles Rafael Nadal (Spain)
Women Singles Ashleigh Barty (Australia)
Women Doubles
Timea Babos (Hungary) and
Kristina Mladenovic (France)
Men Doubles
Juan Sebastian Cabal and
Robert Farah (Colombia)
Men’s
Wheelchair
Gustavo Fernandez
(Argentina)
Women’s
Wheelchair
Diede de Groot (Netherland)
Quad Dylan Alcott (Australia)
Tamil Nadu tops ‘Good Governance Index’ launched by GoI
The Central Government has released the “Good Governance Index” on the occasion of Good Governance Day to assess the state of governance in
The prime objective of the GGI is to provide Indian States and Union Territories.
quantifiable data to compare the state of
governance in all states and Union Territories, enable them to formulate and implement suitable
strategies for improving governance and shift to
The Index was launched by the Department of result oriented approaches and administration.
The GGI takes into consideration ten sectors. These Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, and the Centre for Good Governance.
ten Governance Sectors are measured on total 50
indicators. The 10 sectors are: Agriculture and
Allied Sectors; Commerce & Industries; Human
Resource Development; Public Health; Public
Infrastructure & Utilities; Economic Governance;
Social Welfare & Development; Judicial & Public
Security; Environment; Citizen-Centric
The states and UTs are divided into three groups:Governance.
Big States, North-East & Hill States and Union
Territories. Some key results of the Index:
Among the “Big States“, Tamil Nadu topped thel
Good Governance Index. The poor performers are
Odisha, Bihar, Goa, and Uttar Pradesh with Jharkhand
finishing last in the group.
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Among the “North-East and Hill States“, Himachal
Pradesh topped the index, followed by Uttarakhand, Tripura, Mizoram and Sikkim. The worst performers
in this group are Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, with Arunachal Pradesh
Among the “Union Territories“, Puducherry finishing last in the group.
topped the index followed by Chandigarh and Delhi. Lakshwadeep is the worst performing UT. RBI caps lending on P2P platforms at Rs 50
lakh
The Reserve Bank of India has capped the permissible exposure limit of a lender on a Peer- to-Peer lending (P2P) platform for all borrowers. The aggregate exposure has been set at Rs 50 lakh at
any given point of time. The step has been taken to
The lender investing more than Rs 10 lakh acrosslprotect the consumers interest.
P2P platforms has to produce a certificate to P2P
platforms from a practising Chartered Accountant
The central bank also stated that the “Escrowlcertifying minimum net-worth of Rs 50 lakh.
accounts” to be operated by bank promoted trustee
for transfer of funds need not be mandatorily
maintained with the bank which has promoted the
trustee. It also mandates that all the transactions
through bank accounts, and cash transaction are
strictly prohibited. Kamareddy wins Unicef-2019 Award for
Swachh Bharat implementation
Kamareddy district of Telangana has secured thel
United Nations International Children’s and
Education Fund (Unicef)-2019 Award for effective
implementation of Swachh Bharat Mission in water
sanitation and hygiene sectors.
Kamareddy district was on top in the country amongl
other districts in construction of individual sanitary
lavatories, swachh darpan wall paintings, swachh
survekshan, swachh sundar shouchalay and many
other activities.National Affairs
The Government of India has constructed Girls’ Hostel for Nepal Armed Police Force School, Kirtipur, Nepal. The new infrastructure isl
constructed with the GoI’s grant assistance of 40.42
President Ram Nath Kovind released the mobile applmillion Nepali Rupees.
of the Red Cross Society of India, developed by the
Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban has achieved its targetlTelangana Centre for Good Governance.
of creating Urban India Open Defecation Free as
urban areas of 35 states and Union Territories have
Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministelbecome ODF. r unveiled India’s
1st long-distance CNG bus fitted with CNG cylinders
in New Delhi. It can travel around 1000 kilometres
Prime Minister Narendra Modi named Rohtanglin a single fill and will ply from Delhi to Dehradun.
passageway in Himachal Pradesh as Atal Tunnel
to mark the 95th birth anniversary of former Prime
5 verticals of Quality Mandate developed by UGClMinister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
was launched in New Delhi to equip country’s next- generation with vital skills, knowledge and ethics for
leading a rewarding life. The 5 documents covers
evaluation reforms, eco-friendly and sustainable
university campuses, human values &
professional ethics, faculty induction and
The Union Health Minister has inaugurated the 2ndlacademic research integrity.
edition of “Eat Right Mela” in New Delhi organized
by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India
(FSSAI). ‘The PURPLE Book’ a handbook on diets for
Network for Scientific Co-operation for Food Safetyldiseases was also launched during the event.
and Applied Nutrition (NetSCoFAN), a network of
research & academic institutions working in the area
of food & nutrition along with the NetSCoFAN
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT)ldirectory was launched during the “Eat Right Mela”.
railway station in Mumbai has been conferred with
‘Eat Right Station’ certification with the five-star
rating by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of
All India Radio organized the National SymposiumlIndia (FSSAI) for food safety and hygiene.
of Poets 2020 which was attended by select poets of
all 22 languages recognized in the constitution.
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States in the News
Chief Minister of Sikkim has laid the foundation stonel
of 2 Integrated Organic Food Processing units of
Sikkim IFFCO Organics Ltd. (a joint venture
between IFFCO and Government of Sikkim) in
Rajasthan Chief Minister inaugurated its first “JantalRangpo, East Sikkim.
clinic” in the Malviya Nagar area of Jaipur. The clinic
will provide free primary health care to people
Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jaganmohanlliving in slums.
Reddy launched the ‘YSR Nethanna Nestham’ scheme at Dharmavaram in Anantapur district to
provide financial assistance of Rs 24,000 annually
Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a statue oflto handloom weavers across the state.
former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Lok
Bhawan in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh and also laid the
foundation stone for the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Medical
In Jharkhand, Grand Alliance leader Hemant SorenlUniversity in the Uttar Pradesh capital.
The 1st edition of Mandu Festival begins at Mandu, picturesque fort city of Madhya Pradesh andlwill take oath as Chief Minister of the state.
organized by Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board. International Affairs
Ecuador has activated the emergency protocols inl
the Galapagos Islands to contain the environmental
impact of a fuel spill in the Galapagos Islands. The
step was taken after the accident occurred in a port
on San Cristobal Island when a crane collapsed
Eight West African countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegallwhile loading a container onto the barge.
and Togo have agreed to change the name of their
common currency to Eco and severed their earlier
currency CFA Franc’s links to former colonial ruler
David Calhoun will replace Dennis Muilenburg aslFrance.
the CEO of the world’s largest aerospace company
China has successfully launched its largest carrierlBoeing.
rocket “Long March-5” also known as “CZ-5” from
Wenchang Space Launch Center in south China’s
Hainan Province. It carried a communication satellite
Russia’s 1st missile unit equipped with Avangardl“Shijian-20”.
Hypersonic glide vehicle with latest strategic
missiles of intercontinental range, enters into
service.
Agreements/MoUs Signed
Wipro has partnered with Nasscom to train studentsl
on emerging technologies such as artificial
intelligence, data science, internet of things, cybersecurity as a part of it’s corporate social
responsibility programme “TalentNext”. The
programme will be extended to students through
Bank of Baroda has signed an MoU with the GujaratlFuture Skills, a Nasscom platform.
government to facilitate the flow of credit in the
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)
sector for greenfield projects, startups, women
entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs from backward
Federal Bank has tied up with online real estatelareas.
platform Magicbricks for listing and e-auctioning of
immovable properties repossessed by it in recovery
Kotak Mahindra Bank has tied up with Pine Labs tolproceedings.
enable debit card facility for their debit cardholders
across point-of-sale terminals by Pine Labs. Banks
customers can avail EMI facility with a minimum
purchase of Rs 8,000 and repay over 3 months to 12
months. Books and Authors
A book titled ‘Turbulence and Triumph: The Modil
Years’ jointly authored by Rahul Agarwal and
Bharathi S Pradhan was released in New Delhi. The
book is about the life journey of Prime Minister Shri
Narendra Modi from his days as a young boy in
A book titled “Dreams of a Billion: India and thelGujarat to becoming the Prime Minister of India.
Olympic Games” authored by Boria Majumdar with
Nalin Mehta will be published by HarperCollins
India in January 2020.
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A book titled “Politics of Opportunism: Regionall
Parties, Coalitions, Centre-State Relations In
India” and authored by R P N Singh was released by
noted economist and political analyst S Gurumurthy. Banking/Economy/Business News
The Government of India has approved the releasel
of Rs 8,655 crore as fresh capital to three public
sector banks: Allahabad Bank (Rs 2,153 crore), Indian Overseas Bank (Rs 4,630 crore) and UCO
Bank (Rs 2,142 crore) for preferential allotment of
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank haslshares.
announced a loan of $210 million for irrigation and
solar energy projects in India. The bank will lend
$145 million to improve irrigation services and
strengthen flood risk management in West Bengal
and $65 million for a 250-megawatt solar project in
The Reserve Bank of India has introduced a newlRajasthan.
semi-closed prepaid payment instrument (PPI)
which can be used for the transaction of goods and
services up to a limit of Rs 10,000. The loading
facility of the instrument will be linked only from a
The Reserve Bank of India has directed largelbank account.
cooperative banks to report all exposures of Rs 5
crore and more to the Central Repository of
Information on Large Credits (CRILC) with effect
from December 31, 2019. The CRILC was created by
the Reserve Bank of India. Appointments/Resignations
In Cuba, President has appointed Manuel Marrerol
Cruz as the country’s first prime minister in more
Dr Monisha Ghosh has been appointed as the firstlthan 40 years since its scrapping in 1976.
woman Chief Technology Officer at the US
government’s powerful Federal Communications
Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director of Apollol Commission (FCC). She will replace Dr Eric Burger.
Hospitals Group, has taken over as the President of
the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce &
Industry (FICCI) for 2019-20. She will succeed
Harsh Vardhan Shringla has been appointed as thelSandip Somany.
new Foreign Secretary. He will take over from
Niranjan Hiranandani will succeed Balkrishanlincumbent Vijay Gokhale.
Goenka as the new president of The Associated
Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India
(Assocham), the country’s apex organisation of
industry and trade. Defence News
The Indian Coast Guard has conducted a regionall
level pollution response exercise named ‘Swachchh
Samundra NW-2019’ at sea off Vadinar in Gulf of
Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile systemlKutch.
developed by DRDO was successfully flight-tested
from Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the
The Indian Air Force bids farewell to the iconiclOdisha coast.
“MiG-27” with a decommissioning ceremony at the
Jodhpur air base. Awards and Recognitions
Aditya K. of Kozhikode, Kerala has become the 1stl
child from the State to bag the Bharat Award for
bravery given away by the Indian Council for Child
Welfare. Two more children Muhammed Mohsin &
Fatah from Kerala are also the recipients of the
Noted archaeologist R. Nagaswamy was honoured atlawards.
the Silver Jubilee International Conference of Art
India’s ophthalmologist Dr Santosh G Honavar haslin Dhaka by Bangladesh.
become the 1st Indian to be conferred with the
American Academy of Ophthalmology’s (AAO)
highest award Life Achievement honour. Summit and Conference
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar co-chairedl
the 19th Joint Commission meeting with Foreign
The 5th Round of India-Japan Maritime Affairs Minister of Iran in Tehran, Iran.
Dialogue was held in Tokyo, Japan. Ranks and Reports
India has emerged as the world’s 3rd-largestl
publisher of science and engineering articles as
per the statistics compiled by the US National
Science Foundation (NSF). China is at the top
position, followed by the US. Sports News
India’s shuttler Maisnam Meiraba Luwang beatsl
Ken Yong Ong to won the Men’s singles Bangladesh
Junior International Badminton Series 2019 held
South African all-rounder Vernon Philanderlin Dhaka, Bangladesh.
announced international retirement from all forms
Former India skipper and wicket-keeper batsman MSlof cricket.
Dhoni has been named Captain of Cricket
Australia’s (CA) ODI team of the decade. Apart from
Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma also made into
Indian tennis ace Leander Paes has announced tolthe CA’s team.
retire from Tennis in 2020 as a professional tennis
player.
Abhinav Lohan has won the Bengaluru Open Golfl
Championship 2019 powered by Karnataka
Indian skipper Virat Kohli is one of the five players Tourism.
named in the Wisden Cricketers of the Decade. Other players in the list are: Australian batsman
Steve Smith, and South Africans: Dale Steyn, and AB
de Villiers. Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry is the
only female cricketer in the list. Science and Technology
The World Health Organization has approved al
“biosimilar” medicine of Trastuzumab named
“Ontruzant” to make cheaper breast cancer
treatment at an affordable rate to women globally. Important Days
National Mathematics Day is celebrated on 22ndl
December every year to mark the birth anniversary
Kisan Diwas or National Farmers’ Day is observedlof legendary mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan.
across India on December 23 to honour Chaudhary
Good Governance Day is observed in India annuallylCharan Singh, the 5th Prime Minister of India .
on the 25th of December to mark the birth
anniversary of Bharat Ratna and former-Prime
India observes 24th December every Year aslMinister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
National Consumer Day with a theme “alternate
consumer grievance/dispute redressal”.
Obituaries
Renowned Hindustani classical vocalist Vidushil
Savita Devi known for her thumirs and her book
Former West Ham and Tottenham midfielder Martinl‘Maa…Siddheshwari’ passed away.
Renowned Hindi author Ganga Prasad Vimal passed away.
The American songwriter Allee Willis who penned Uttarakhand, passed away recently.
the iconic “I’ll Be There For You” track for the long- running television show “Friends” passed away
China’s brilliant storyteller, Da Chen, who created recently.
the critically acclaimed memoir “Colours of the
Veteran Political cartoonist Vikas Sabnis has passed Mountain” passed away recently.
away recently. Miscellaneous News
Prof. Krishnasamy VijayRaghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Govt of India launched a
national program called “EChO Network” in New
Delhi. The EChO network provides a template for
Integral Coach Factory (ICF) of Indian Railways cross-disciplinary leadership in India.
has produced its 3000 Coaches in record 215 days
and retained its position as the largest coach- maker
To battle rising air pollution in cities, an ‘Oxygen in the world.
Parlour’ has been opened at Nashik railway station
with the efforts of Airo Guard in collaboration with
the Indian Railways. The parlour will provide an
Finance minister of India released a postage stamp experience of breathing clean air to the commuters.
to commemorate distinguished service and glorious
contribution of Directorate of Revenue
Indian Railways started a glass-enclosed vistadome Intelligence (DRI) in protecting the nation.
“Him Darshan Express” train on the heritage Kalka- Shimla route, with glass rooftop to have a panoramic
Central government will launch the “Digital Radio”lview of the hilly region.
Raksha Mantri has launched the “DefExpo 2020” mobile app of the forthcoming DefExpo 2020, developed by Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence (MoD). Static Takeawayslin 2024.
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Iran Capital: Tehran; Currency: Rial; President:l Headquarters of Integral Coach Factory: Chennai, Tamil Nadu; Established: 2nd October 1955. l
Chief Minister of Kerala: Pinarayi Vijayan; Governor:Hassan Rouhani.
Headquarters of ITF: London, United Kingdom;lArif Mohammad Khan; Kerala: Thiruvananthapuram.
President of Cuba: Miguel Díaz-Canel; Capital:lPresident: David Haggerty.
Chief Minister of Sikkim: Prem Singh Tamang;lHavana; Currency: Cuban peso.
Nepal Prime Minister: K P Sharma Oli; Capital:lGovernor of Sikkim: Ganga Prasad.
WHO Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland, DirectorlKathmandu.
DRDO Chairman: G Satheesh Reddy; Established:lgeneral: Tedros Adhanom.
Indian Coast Guard was founded on 18 August 1978;l1958; Headquarters: New Delhi.
FICCI was established in 1927; FICCI Headquarters:l Bank of Baroda is headquartered at Vadodara, Gujarat. lHeadquarters: New Delhi.
Governor of Andhra Pradesh: Biswa BhusanlNew Delhi.
CM of Rajasthan: Ashok Gehlot; Governor: KalrajlHarichandan.
Minister of State (Independent Charge) of thelMishra.
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs: Hardeep
CM of Telangana: K Chandrashekhar Rao; Governor:lSingh Puri.
World Consumers Rights Day is celebrated on 15lTamilisai Soundararajan.
CM of UP: Yogi Adityanath; Governor of UP:lMarch.
Himachal Pradesh CM: Jai Ram Thakur; Governor:l Headquarters of Boeing: Chicago, United States. lAnandiben Patel.
Bandaru Dattatraya.
Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister: Dharmendral
The Union finance minister of India: Nirmalal Railway Minister: Piyush Goyal. l Chairman of Prasar Bharati: A Surya Prakash. lPradhan.
RBI 25th Governor: Shaktikant Das; Headquarters:l ICC Chief Executive Officer: Manu Sahney, Headquarters: Dubai, United Arab Emirates. lSitharaman.
MDl President of AIIB: Jin Liqun; Headquarter: Beijing, China. lMumbai; Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata. & American Academy of Ophthalmology Headquarters:l Chairman of UCO Bank: Atul Kumar Goel. lCEO of Indian Overseas Bank: Karnam Sekar.
Japan Capital: Tokyo, Currency: Japanese yen, PM:lSan Francisco, California, US.
CM of Maharashtra: Uddhav Thackeray; Governor:lShinzo Abe.
Chief Executive Officer of FSSAI: Pawan KumarlBhagat Singh Koshyari; Capital: Mumbai.
President of Russia: Vladimir Putin; Capital: Moscow;l Capital of China: Beijing; Currency: Renminbi. l Union Defence Minister of India: Raj Nath Singh. lAgarwal; Chairperson: Rita Teaotia.
Currency: Russian Ruble.
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