1) Human Rights Day: 10 December
•Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December. This Day came into existence on December 10, 1948, when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations. This day is observed every year across the world, as it empowers us all. The day also acknowledges the advocates and defenders of human rights around the world.
•This year it will be the 71st anniversary of Universal Declaration of Human Rights. With the theme “Youth Standing Up for Human Rights”, the aim is to celebrate the potential of youth as constructive agents of change, amplify their voices and engage a broad range of global audiences in the promotion and protection of rights.
2) Nilgiri Mountain Railway conducts special service for foreign tourists
•The UNESCO-recognized Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) conducted a special service for foreign tourists. 71 tourists from several countries, including the USA, the UK and France travelled by a special steam engine service from Coonoor to Ooty. They were presented with special mementoes and gift hampers as well as served with the replica of the original Edmonton type cardboard ticket.
•The NMR is one of the few railways in the world that uses the unique rack and pinion system, with its special third rail to negotiate gradients en route from Mettupalayam in the foothills of the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu to Ooty, the Queen of Western Ghats.
3) UAE, US joint military exercise ‘Iron Union 12’commences
•‘Iron Union 12’, a joint military exercise between the ground forces of the UAE and the United States, commenced. ‘Iron Union 12′ will see the two sides take part in joint military cooperation to enhance combat and tactical capabilities. The joint military exercises of the UAE Armed Forces with fraternal and friendly countries takes place in a manner consistent with latest developments and reflects the UAE Armed Forces’ determination to stand firmly against all threats and challenges facing the region.
4) MOU signed Between NSIC & ARAMCO Asia for development in Oil & Gas Sectors
•A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed between National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) and Suadi Aramco (Asia) for the development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Ecosystem in India in Oil & Gas Sector. The MoU will pave a way for accredited Indian MSMEs to carve out space as vendors in Global space.
5) Abu Dhabi selected as world’s leading sports tourism destination
•Abu Dhabi (UAE) has been selected as the world’s leading Sports tourism Destination at the 26th edition of the World Travel Awards (WTA) being held in Muscat, Oman. This is the 7th time in a row that Abu Dhabi has been selected for this coveted award. The award is the latest in several prestigious accolades gained by Abu Dhabi this year, including being selected as the West Asia’s Leading Business Tourism Destination at the West Asia edition of WTA and Best City Break at the UK’s Selling Travel Agents’ Choice Awards.
•Abu Dhabi shined as a premium destination once again for sports tourism in 2019 after hosting so Abu Dhabi me of the world’s top sporting events, such as the FIFA Club World Cup 2017 and 2018, the first edition of the UAE Tour, the AFC Asian Cup 2019, the Special Olympics World Games 2019, the UFC 242 showdown and the Brazil vs South Korea international friendly match.
•Sports tourism has been labelled by the United Nations World Travel Organisation, UNWTO, as one of the fastest-growing sectors of tourism worldwide. World Travel Awards was established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all key sectors of the travel, tourism and hospitality industries.
6) Multi Cell Box Type Load Class 70 bridge inaugurated in Rajouri
•Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Girish Chandra Murmu inaugurated the 72-metre long Multi Cell Box Type Load Class 70 bridge to the Nation in Rajouri. The bridge spans over Draj nallah and connects Draj Area to Tehsil Kotranka area under District Rajouri. The bridge has been built by Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
•The Draj bridge is an important bridge for military as well as for socio-economic development of the Rajouri District as a whole. This bridge will facilitate all weather and speedy movement of Army troops as well as locals.
7) News Broadcasters Federation elects Arnab Goswami as governing board president
•The News Broadcasters Federation (NBF), the country’s largest association of over 78 news channels, has elected editor-in-chief of Republic TV Arnab Goswami as the President of its governing board. The body of 78 news channels in 14 languages, representing broadcasters from 25 states. The new self-regulatory organization in order to bring in transparent self-regulation on content will be announced by the end of January 2020.
8) Exim Bank provides USD 500 mn credit to Bangladesh for defence procurement
•India’s Exim Bank (Export-Import Bank of India) has provided $500 million (Rs 3561 crore) Line of Credit(LoC) to Bangladesh for defence-related procurement in the neighbouring country. The Exim bank entered into an agreement with Bangladesh’s Armed Forces Division (AFD) in this regard on April 11, 2019. The agreement became effective from November 7, 2019, and the utilisation period of the loan is 10 years from the date of signing the agreement.
•Under the loan agreement, financing of export of eligible goods and services from India would be allowed subject to the Foreign Trade Policy(FTP). Out of total credit, 75% of the contract price will be applied by the seller and the remaining 25% will be procured by the seller for the purpose of the eligible contract from outside India, including Bangladesh. The contract price may be reduced from 75% to 65% based on the nature of procurement.
9) Loans worth over Rs10 lakh cr sanctioned under PMMY
•Union Government informed that loans worth over 10 lakh crore rupees have been sanctioned till 1st November this year under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, PMMY. As per the findings of the PMMY survey, around five crore persons were working in the establishments for which MUDRA loans were availed between April 2015 to March 2018. The survey reveals that these loans enabled beneficiaries to sustain the economic activities they were engaged in.
10) Rafale jet tail numbers to feature former Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa’s
•The Indian Rafale fighter jets will fly with the tail sign ‘BS’ after the recently retired Air Force Chief Birender Singh Dhanoa. The Indian Air Force has decided to put tail numbers in 30 Rafale jets with ”BS” initials. Six Rafale trainer aircraft will carry RB series tail numbers which stand for Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, the current Chief of Air Staff who played a key role as lead negotiator for the mega-deal.
11) NSE launches interest rate options on 10-yr govt bonds
•National Stock Exchange launched interest rate options on ten-year Government bonds. The exchange recorded a turnover of 5,926 contracts on the first day of its launch. The exchange has added one more instrument to the fixed income derivatives asset class. interest rate options will provide institutional investors with the ability to manage risk through a non-linear product.
•These interest rate options are based on 10-year government bonds maturing in 2029 with a coupon rate of 7.26 per cent and 6.45 per cent. Presently, interest rate futures are available on seven government bonds for residual maturity ranging from 4 years to 15 years.
12) 4 eminent diplomats honoured with 2019 ‘Diwali – Power of One Award’
The 4 prominent diplomats have been honoured with ‘The Diwali – Power of One’ award 2019 in recognition and celebration of their work, especially at the United Nations, for a secure and peaceful world.
The diplomats who were honoured are:
•Former foreign minister and Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to UN: Kairat Abdrakhmanov.
•Former Permanent Representative of Cyprus to UN: Nicholas Emiliou.
•Former Chef de Cabinet to President of 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) and Permanent Representative of Slovakia to UN: Frantisek Ruzicka.
•Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN: Volodymyr Yelchenko.
The awards which have now come to be known as ‘Oscars of Diplomacy’ were established by Diwali Foundation USA, Inc in 2017. The awards seek to promote a peaceful and consensus-based process to achieve societal good, as befitting high hopes and ideals of humanity enshrined in the UN Charter.
13) WADA bans Russia from international sporting events for 4 years
•The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), banned Russia for 4 years, from participation in global sporting events, including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, after accusing Moscow of falsifying data from an anti-doping laboratory. The Russian flag and national anthem have also been banned in global events.
•Russia’s anti-doping agency can appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport within 21 days. The independent McLaren report released in 2016 revealed the significant extent of state-sponsored doping in Russia, notably between 2011 and 2015.
