Current Affairs Daily Digest – December 13 2019

1. Odisha received the 2019 World Habitat Award

Odisha State government was honoured with the 2019 World Habitat Award. The award recognized the State’s ambitious project Jaga Mission. The award was conferred by the World Habitat, a UK based organization, in association with the United Nations (UN)-Habitat. The programme has set a global benchmark to empower the urban poor.

2. HDFC becomes the 5th firm to cross Rs 4 lakh crore in market cap

Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) became the fifth company to cross Rs 4 lakh crore in market capitalisation on December 12, 2019.

Oil-retail-to-telecom major Reliance Industries retained its top slot with a market cap of Rs 9.93 lakh crore followed by top Indian IT company TCS (Rs 7.8 lakh crore), second largest private sector lender HDFC Bank (Rs 6.9 lakh crore) and FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (Rs 4.3 lakh crore).

3. 2 plus 2 India-US dialogue to be held on Dec 18: MEA

The Second India-US 2 Plus 2 Ministerial Dialogue will be held in Washington DC on 18th of this month. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will lead the Indian delegation.

Briefing media in New Delhi, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said they will meet their US counterparts for a comprehensive review of cross-cutting foreign policy and defence and security issues in India-US relations.

4. World’s first liquid hydrogen carrier ship launches in Japan

Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries debuted the world’s first marine carrier that transports liquefied hydrogen, using technology that will vastly expand cargo capacity of the green energy source.

A crowd of 4,000 people gathered at Kawasaki’s shipyard in Kobe for the naming and launch ceremony of the Suiso Frontier — a name adopting the Japanese word for hydrogen. The vessel, measuring 116 meters long, will be fully completed next fall.

5. Saudi Arabia to host first-ever women’s golf tournament in March 2020

Saudi Arabia will host its first ever golf tournament for women from March 19-22 next year at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in Jeddah, with 108 professionals set to participate.

The Ladies European Tour (LET) event will be staged in collaboration with Golf Saudi and the Saudi Golf Federation and will carry a winning purse of $1 million.

6. Ravi Mittal appointed I&B Secretary

Ravi Mittal will be the new Information and Broadcasting Secretary. Mr Mittal, who belongs to 1986 batch of Bihar Cadre of Indian Administrative Service, will replace Mr Amit Khare who has been appointed as the new secretary of the Department of Higher EducationMr Mittal is currently working as the Special Secretary in the Department of Financial Services in the Ministry of Finance.

7. FSSAI, Nasscom Foundation partner to develop app to prevent food wastage

To prevent food wastage, Food regulator FSSAI and Nasscom Foundation have joined hands to a develop an app and set up a 24×7 helpline number to connect donors with surplus edibles to food distribution organisations.

8. What is Inner Line Permit: President Kovind signs order to extend ILP regime to Manipur

The President of India Ram Nath Kovind has signed Citizen Amendment Bill 2019 (CAB). Now, it has become law but north-eastern states are protesting against this bill. Union Home Minister Amit Shah made it clear that this bill will not be applicable in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura (about 70%) and almost entire Meghalaya because of Inner Line Permit in these states.

What is Inner Line Permit (ILP)?

• The Inner Line Permit is a document that allows an Indian citizen to go or live in a protected state under the ILP system for a specific period of time.
• The Inner Line Permit is currently applicable in four northeastern states – Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram. It is important to get an ILP to travel to these states.
• It has a fixed duration; outside citizens cannot live in these states after that period.

9. INDRA 2019: India, Russia conduct joint military exercise

The bilateral military exercise between India and Russia started at Babina (near Jhansi) recently. This military exercise is being held under the aegis of the United Nations (UN) aimed at combating terrorism and insurgency.

10. Angela Merkel tops Forbes most-powerful women list, again; FM Nirmala Sitharaman stands at 34th spot

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has topped Forbes’ list of world’s most-powerful women for the ninth year running. Following Merkel was Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank. Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, too, found a spot on Forbes’ list. She stood at number 34, ranking ahead of Queen Elizabeth II, who is at number 40, and Ivanka Trump, who stood at number 42.