Daily Current Affairs 15th December, 2019

Daily Current Affairs 15 December 2019 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Vice Prez Venkaiah naidu inaugurates FICCI ARISE conference 2019 in New Delhi

Vice President, M. Venkaiah Naidu, Inaugurating the FICCI ARISE Conference on School Education in New Delhi. The theme for this year’s FICCI ARISE Conference was ‘Future Ready Learners and Schools’.

• The 2 day Conference witnessed participation of more than 700 delegates including state and central government officials, regulators, prominent educators, think tanks, consulting firms and institutions from across India and the world

Kerala launches ‘Vijayamritham’ & ‘Sahachari’ schemes to support differently-abled people

The Kerala state government has launched two social welfare schemes – ‘Vijayamritham’ and ‘Sahachari’ to honour differently-abled people as well as NSS, NCC and Student Police Cadet (SPC) units working for their care and welfare.

• The ‘Vijayamritham’ scheme has been introduced to provide financial assistance for differently-abled people who battled odds and scored high marks in degree, PG and professional courses.
• Sahachari Scheme will honour NSS, NCC and Student Police Cadet (SPC) units that assist people, with over 40% disability, in their studies and other tasks. The Department of Social Justice has earmarked an amount of Rs. 40,000/- for each district.

Japanese movie ‘They Say Nothing Stays The Same’ Bags ‘Suvarna Chakoram’ at 24th IFFK

Japanese movie ‘They Say Nothing Stays the Same’, directed by actor and musician Joe Odagiri bagged the ‘Suvarna Chakoram’ (The Golden Crow Pheasant) award at the 24th edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK).

• Brazilian director Allan Deberton was awarded the ‘Rajatha Chakoram’ (The Silver Crow Pheasant), for the best director for his movie ‘Pacarrete’.
• Malayalam movie ‘Veyilmarangal’ (Trees Under the Sun), directed by renowned filmmaker Dr Biju bagged the NETPAC Award for the best Malayalam film.
• Fahim Irshad for Aani Maani bagged the FFSI K R Mohanan Award for Best Debut Director.

India’s NAVIC satellites approved to join US ‘allied’ system

Along with the Galileo of the European Union and QZSS of Japan, the US Congress has given its nod to designate India’s NAVIC as its “allied” navigational satellite system.

• Autonomous regional satellite navigation system, NAVIC is indigenously developed system that provides accurate real-time positioning and timing services.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

25th UN Climate Change Conference held in Madrid, Spain

COP25, is the 25th United Nations Climate Change conference held in Madrid, Spain, under the presidency of the Chilean government. The conference incorporates the 25th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the 15th meeting of the parties for the Kyoto Protocol (CMP15), and the second meeting of the parties for the Paris Agreement (CMA2).

• COP 26 is expected to take place from 9 to 19 November 2020, in Glasgow, Scotland, UK.

Indian embassy, INTACH to rebuild 11 heritage sites damaged in Nepal quake

The Indian embassy has inked an agreement with a New Delhi-based non-profit charitable organisation to rebuild 11 cultural heritage sites damaged in devastating earthquakes in and around the Kathmandu Valley.

• INTACH will provide design and project management consultancy services for reconstruction of 11 cultural heritage sites in four districts – Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur and Solukhumbhu.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Edelweiss Mutual Fund launches Indias first Corporate Bond exchange-traded fund

Edelweiss Mutual Fund launched the new fund offer of India’s first corporate bond ETF (exchange-traded fund) called Bharat Bond ETF.

• This ETF is an initiative of the Government of India, from the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management.
• Investors can subscribe to the ETF with a minimum unit size of Rs 1,000. The fund house aims to raise Rs.3000 crore in Bharat Bond ETFs having 3-year maturity and Rs.4000 crore from such bonds having 10-year maturity.

AWARDS

Toni-Ann Singh from Jamaica crowned Miss World 2019 defeating France, India

Toni-Ann Singh from Jamaica was crowned the 69th Miss World, beating her contenders from France and India.

• Suman Rao, who represented India in the annual beauty pageant, came in third while France’s Ophely Mezino bagged the second position.

OBITUARIES

Former Union Minister ID Swami passes away

Former Union Minister ID Swami passed away at the age of 90. He was suffering from heart disease and was admitted to the hospital in Faridabad, Haryana.

• Swami was Union Minister of State for Home Affairs in 1999 in former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Tea Day

International Tea Day is observed annually on 15th December. It has been celebrated since 2005 in tea producing countries like  India,Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Vietnam, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia, Uganda, and Tanzania. 

• It aims to draw global attention of governments and citizens to the impact of the global tea trade on workers and growers, and has been linked to requests for price supports and fair trade.

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