Daily Current Affairs 25th December, 2019

Daily Current Affairs 25 December 2019 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Union Cabinet approves Rs 6,000-crore Atal Jal Yojana for better groundwater management

A day ahead of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birth anniversary, the Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved Atal Bhujal Yojana (ATAL JAL) with a budget of Rs 6000 crores aimed at sustainable groundwater management.

• The Atal Jal programme has been launched to provide sustainable groundwater management.
• Atal Jal Yojana or the guidelines related to the Jal Jeevan Mission are big steps to deliver water to every household in the country by 2024.

Digital Radio to be launched in 2024: Prakash Javadekar

Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar announced that NDA government is bringing Digital Radio in 2024 at an annual Akashvani awards function in New Delhi.

• The audio of digital radio will be more clear and its reach will be higher.

Mandatory to link PAN-Aadhaar by Dec 31: Income Tax Department

The Income Tax Department has said that it will be mandatory to link Permanent Account Number (PAN) with Aadhaar by the end of this month.

• This will facilitate to reap seamless benefits of income tax services. The deadline for linking PAN with Aadhaar was extended till the 31st of December from 30th of September.

Odisha CM inaugurates Gopalpur beach festival

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the five-day annual Gopalbpur beach festival at the famous seaside town of Gopalpur.

• The festival is set to roll out a variety of programmes including folk dance and music, classical as well as the modern dances by renowned artists and groups from across the state and outside.

Telangana to declare 2020 as “Year of AI” on January 2

On January 2, K T Rama Rao, Minister for IT and Industries, would officially declare 2020 as the Year of AI for Telangana, announce exciting AI projects and launch the calendar of events.

• With AI and Big Data Analytics expected to generate 800,000 jobs in India by 2021, Telangana will now launch it’s AI program in 2020, which will be implemented by Nasscom and guided by the AI framework document.

First tripartite Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signed under Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Fund (FIDF)

The first tripartite Memorandum of Agreement was signed between the department of Fisheries Government of India, NARBARD and the Government of Tamil Nadu for the implementation of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Fund (FIDF).

• Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying said that a dedicated fund has been created namely the Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund with a total of Rs. 7522.48 crore.

Centre gives approval for semi-high speed rail project in Kerala

The Centre has given in-principle approval to the Silver Line, a semi-high speed railway project from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod. The double line project can cover up to 200 km/hr.

• Once commissioned, the semi-high speed rail corridor will reduce the travel time from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod from 12 hours to 4 hours.

Tunnel under Rohtang pass to be renamed after Atal Bihari Vajpayee

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the renaming of the strategic tunnel under Rohtang Pass after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the late Vajpayee’s 95th birth anniversary.

• The 8.8-kilometre-long tunnel is the world’s longest tunnel above an altitude of 3,000 metres

Tamil Nadu tops in coverage under micro-irrigation

Tamil Nadu has emerged as the topper in coverage of area under micro-irrigation (MI) this year. Of about 3.64 lakh hectares brought under MI, Tamil Nadu accounts for around 1.39 lakh hectares, accounting for 38% of the total coverage in the country.

• Gujarat comes next to Tamil Nadu with a coverage of 77,858 hectares and Andhra Pradesh, 52,027 hectares. Maharashtra comes fourth with around 36,831 hectares and Uttar Pradesh with 25,680 hectares.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

PM Modi to visit Brussels in 2020 for Summit With EU

PM Narendra Modi will visit Brussels in 2020 for the next India-EU Summit aimed at expanding strategic partnership with Europe.

• Modi said that von der Leyen’s leadership of the commission had special significance since she was its first woman president.

China-Brazil satellite launched into space to monitor Amazon rainforest

An Earth observation satellite jointly developed by China and Brazil was launched into space under a bilateral programme seen as a template for broader cooperation among BRICS nations.

• The China-Brazil Earth Resource Satellite-4A was launched on a Long March-4B rocket in the northern Chinese province of Shanxi.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Sebi signs pact with Kazakhstan-based AFSA for mutual co-operation

Markets regulator Sebi has signed a pact with Kazakhstan’s Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) for mutual co-operation and technical assistance.

• The objective of the bilateral memorandum of understanding (MoU) is to strengthen cross border co-operation in the area of securities regulation.

RBI caps lending on P2P platforms at Rs 50 lakh

To protect consumers interest, the Reserve Bank said that on a peer-to-peer lending (P2P) platform the permissible exposure of a lender to all borrowers should not exceed Rs 50 lakh at any given point of time.

• The lender investing more than Rs 10 lakh across P2P platforms will produce a certificate to P2P platforms from a practising Chartered Accountant certifying minimum net-worth of Rs 50 lakh.

AIIB announces $210 million loan for irrigation & solar energy projects

The Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) announced a total loan of $210 million for irrigation and solar energy projects in India.

• The multilateral institution will lend $145 million to improve irrigation services and strengthen flood risk management in West Bengal, while $65 million has been earmarked for a 250-megawatt (MW) solar project in Rajasthan promoted by Hero Future Energies.

SPORTS

Manu Bhaker, Anish Bhanwala clinch five gold medals at National C’ships

Commonwealth Games champions Manu Bhaker and Anish Bhanwala clinched gold medals at the 63rd National Shooting Championships in Bhopal.

• The 17-year-old Bhaker, representing Haryana, clinched four gold medals (individual and team events in senior and junior) in the women’s 10 meter air pistol.
• Her state-mate Anish, also 17, won individual gold medal in the senior men’s 25 meter rapid fire pistol event to stamp his dominance.

AWARDS

Unicef award to Kamareddy dist. for Swachh Bharat implementation

Kamareddy district secured the United Nations International Children’s and Education Fund (Unicef)-2019 Award for effective implementation of Swachh Bharat Mission in water sanitation and hygiene sectors.

• The district stood in the forefront in the country in construction of individual sanitary lavatories, swachh darpan wall paintings, swachh survekshan, swachh sundar shouchalay and other activities.

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