.

NEWS BULLETIN―48 Week-3, Dec 2019

NATIONAL AFFAIRS discriminatory in nature. Goal of protecting persecuted groups

is welcomed, but new law does not extend protection to
The passing of the Muslims, incl. minority sects.”
Citizenship (Amendment) ―United States has also issued a statement asking Indian
Act, 2019 has led to Authorities to protect and respect the right of peaceful assembly
widespread protests across and also to protect the rights of its religious minorities in
India. keeping with its Constitution and democratic values of India.
―The Citizenship ―The Indian Government has responded by saying that those
(Amendment) Act, 2019 genuinely committed to religious freedom” should not be
provides relaxed citizenship criticising the CAA, as it expedites grating of Indian citizenship
norms for the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian to persecuted religious minorities from neighbouring countries.
from the neighbouring states of Bangladesh, Afghanistan and ―The Ministry of External Affairs has issued a statement
Pakistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2014. saying that the law in question seeks to address their current
―The North East states are protesting because they fear that difficulties and meet their basic human rights. Such an
this law will lead to legitimising of Bangladeshi immigrants and initiative should be welcomed, not criticised by those who are
attack the social demographics in the region. genuinely committed to religious freedom.
―The other states are protesting because the law is ―The United States Government has also said that they are
discriminating against Muslims. closely watching the developments regarding the Citizenship
―The protestors in other states are also arguing that CAA Amendment Act and protests against it.
combined with NRC will create situations where everything else ―US Commission on International Religious Freedom
being equal a non-Muslim without documentary proof will be (USCIRF) had earlier called for sanctions against Indian Home
able to retain Indian Citizenship while a Muslim without Minister Amit Shah and other leaders, if the Bill is passed in
documentary proof will be rendered stateless. both Houses of the Parliament.
―Curfew has been imposed in parts of Assam and West Bengal.  World Economic Forum (WEF) has released the Gender
―Internet and Mobile services have been stopped in many Gap Report 2019.
places in the North-East India.
―Students across the country are also protesting against this
law.
―Delhi police threw teargas shells inside the campus of Jamia
Millia Islamia University and allegedly dragged students out of
the library and the mosque where they were peacefully
protesting.
―Delhi also reported clashes between police and mob in
Seelampur area.
―The leaders of 12 opposition parties have met the President of
India and requested his to advise the Government to repeal the
Act.
―The Chief Minsters of West Bengal, Punjab, Kerala, Madhya
Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have said that they will not allow the ―The key highlights of the report are:
implementation of the law in their states, --India has been ranked at 112. Last year India was ranked at
―The Home Minister of India, Amit Shah has issued a 108th position.
statement that the new citizenship law will not be rolled back --India has been ranked in the bottom five countries on the issue
under any situation. of Women’s health and survival, and economic participation.
The Secretary General of United Nations, Antonio --China, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh have performed
Guterres has expressed concerns about violence and use of better than India with the ranking of 106, 102, 101 and 50
excessive force in curbing the violence respectively.
with regards to the protests against the --The three worse performing countries were Yemen, Iraq and
Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Pakistan with 153, 152 and 151 ranking respectively,
―The Human Rights High --Iceland has retained its place as the most gender-neutral
Commissioner, Michelle Bachelet, has country in the world by topping the list once more.
issued a statement saying that the --Iceland is followed by Norway, Finland and Sweden at 2nd, 3rd
concerned Act was fundamentally and 4th position.
discriminatory in nature, and undermines --Globally, women hold 25.2 percent of parliamentary lower
the commitment to equality. Antonio Guterres house seats. This number was 24.1 percent last year.
―Bachelet has said, “We are concerned --Globally women hold 21.2 percent of Ministerial positions.
that the new Citizenship Amendment Act is fundamentally This number was 19 percent last year.
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--In the economic opportunities the position of women has comes under Central govt, enter the campus? We condemn it.
worsened. This has been due to the under representation of There should be a judicial inquiry.”
women in emerging jobs like cloud computing, engineering and
data and AI. STATES
--The economic opportunities in India for women are extremely
The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly has passed the
limited.
Andhra Pradesh Disha Bill, 2019.
--India is the only country (among the 153 countries which WEF
―Under the provisions of the bill, death penalty can be
studied) where the economic gender gap is larger than political
prescribed for rape cases in which adequate and conclusive
gender gap.
evidence is present.
--Women representation on companies’ boards in India is very
―The Government has also taken a decision to establish,
low at 13.8 percent.
operate and maintain a registry of sexual offenders to be called
--In India only 25 percent of women actively participate in the
the ‘Women and Children Offenders Registry’
labour market.
―This register will be publicly accessible.
--Women in India earned one fifth the amount earned by males.
―Andhra Pradesh has become the first state in India to make
--Only 14 percent of leadership roles in India were occupied by
the registry public. (as per the Andhra Pradesh Home Minister)
women.
―The National Registry of Sexual Offenders is maintained by
--In terms of sex ration India (91 girls per 100 boys) has
the Central Government. But this registry is neither digitalised
performed worse than even Pakistan (92 girls per 100 boys).
nor is it accessible by public at large.
―The first gender gap report was published by WEF in 2006.
―The Disha Act protects the investigation teams from
―India was ranked at the 98th position in the first gender gap
prosecution or legal proceedings “for anything in good faith
report.
done or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act”.
―India’s performance has declined considerably since then.
The Andhra Pradesh Assembly has cleared the Andhra
The Supreme
Pradesh State Commission for Schedule Tribes Bill.
Court has taken strong
―This will allow the state government to establish separate
note on the damage
commissions for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes
done to the public
(STs).
property during the
ongoing protests Punjab Transport
Department has submitted a
against the Citizenship
proposal for purchasing 20
law.
SUVs, including 17 for
―Supreme Court has Supreme Court of India
legislators.
agreed to hear the
―The Department is arguing
petitions alleging police atrocities against students holding
that the vehicles available for
protest against the Citizenship Act at the Aligarh Muslim
legislators are old and they are
University and the Jamia Milia Islamia.
not allowed to enter Delhi.
―The Chief Justice of India SA Bobde said, “We will take
―The Transport Department will require Rs 2.8 crore for
cognisance of the matter but not like this. We are not going to
making these purchases.
be bullied like this. What is this? Public property is being
―The Punjab Finance Department has, as of now, not cleared
destroyed. Just because they happen to be students, it doesn’t
this proposal. This proposal gains significance because it has
mean they can take law and order in their hands, this has to be
been made at a time when the State Government does not have
decided when things cool down. This is not the frame of mind
money to clear bills worth Rs 6,000 crore.
when we can decide anything. Let the rioting stop.”
―Punjab has been raising the issue of pending GST
―The Jamia Millia Islamia University Vice-Chancellor has
compensation to the state.
called for a high-level probe into the Delhi Police’s crackdown
―The delayed compensation has created a situation which can
against the students claiming that almost 200 students were
lead to financial collapse.
injured.
―The Transport Department had earlier sent a proposal for
―The Vice-Chancellor further said that atrocities against
purchase of bulletproof vehicles for former Chief Minister
students inside the library were unacceptable.
Parkash Singh Badal, but this proposal was shot down by the
―Students at different campuses across India staged sit-in
Finance Minister.
within their campuses against the police actions in the Jamia
Milia Islamia.
―Students of Indian Institutes of Technology at Kanpur,
ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
Madras and Bombay also joined these protests.  The National Company Law
―The Students at the Maulana Azad National Urdu Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has
University (MANUU), Hyderabad have decided to boycott the reinstated Cyrus Mistry as chairperson of
examinations in protest of the Citizenship Act and the actions of the Tata Sons.
police in Delhi and UP. ―While reinstating Mistry NCLAT has
―Other universities like Central University of Kerala, Kasargod also held his removal in October 2016; and
and Pondicherry University, Patiala’s Punjab University, Patna appointment of N Chandrasekaran in his
University and Chennai’s Loyola College etc. also joined the place as illegal. Cyrus Mistry
protests. ―This ruling has set aside the July 9, 2018
―West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee took out a rally in Kolkata order which dismissed the pleas of Mistry and upheld the Tata
against both NRC and the Citizenship Act. Group’s decision to dismiss Mistry.
―Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said, “Police can’t enter ―NCLAT has also ruled Tata Sons’ conversion from a public
into university premises without the permission of Vice- limited company to a private company as unlawful and ordered
Chancellor. If they weren’t permitted, how did police, which its reversal.
―The NCLAT’s order of reinstating Mistry will become --The rapid economic growth in India will lead to need for
effective in four weeks. This gives time to Tata Group to increase in coal-based electricity generation.
challenge the ruling in the Supreme Court, something which --Russia and Australia are expected to benefit from increased
they are likely to do. coal demand in India.
―Mistry family holds 18.4 percent stake in Tata Sons. This --Most of the Mozambique’s coal exports are expected to end in
stake could be worth around Rs 90,000 crore. India.
―Trustees of Tata Trusts hold 66 percent stake in Tata Sons. ―India is the second largest coal importer in the world.
The fiscal deficit in the current fiscal has already crossed ―India generates 143 Giga Watt (GW) of coal based electricity.
the annual budget estimates. ―Currently Indian current coal needs are met mostly from
―The rating agency ICRA estimates that the GST Indonesia and South Africa.
compensation requirement of just nine states will likely double
to Rs 60,000 to Rs 70,000 crore in FY20. DEFENCE & SECURITY
―ICRA has also estimated the actual central tax devolution (the
 China has commissioned its first domestically built aircraft
amount of central tax provided to states for spending as per their
carrier into service.
discretion) to be Rs 60,000 crore to Rs 77,000 crore less than the
budgeted amount.
―The central government is struggling with low tax revenue
collection and GST compensation payments to the states.
―This in turn has created funds crisis in many states of India.
―The slowdown in the economy coupled with the reduced GST
on many articles has negatively affected the GST collections in
April to November 2019 period.
GST Council’s recent most meeting was held on December
18.
―In this meeting, most of the states were opposed to change in
slabs or increase in GST on items.
―Most of the states felt that increase in GST rates will
negatively affect the economy which is already facing
slowdown.
―This was the first time that the consensus could not be reached
and voting has to be used for deciding on the GST rate on
lotteries. China's Aircraft Carrier: SHANDONG
―The Council has imposed a single GST rate of 28% on state- ―This second aircraft carrier in Chinese Navy has been named
run and authorised lottery Shandong. China’s aircraft carrier programme is a closely
―The state finance ministers expressed serious concerns over guarded state secret.
the decline in GST collection and delays in GST compensation ―The Chinese Government has announced that the newly built
payments. carrier is based on the designs and experience with China’s first
―GST Council is the highest decision making body on issues aircraft carrier Liaoning. Liaoning was purchased (second
concerning Goods and Services Tax. hand) from Ukraine in 1998. China is upgrading its armed forces
―The GST Council is made up of State Finance Ministers and under the President Xi Jinping.
headed by the Union Finance Minister. India has successfully conducted the separate trials of two
The Fifteenth Finance Commission different variants of supersonic cruise missile BrahMos:
chairperson NK Singh has clarified that the
newly-created Union Territory of Jammu
and Kashmir (J&K) won’t have a share in
devolution of Central taxes as states do, but
will receive only grants like other UTs,
starting FY21.
―Constitutionally, non-states cannot get NK Singh
share of net proceeds of tax. These net
proceeds are admissible only to states. This is the legal opinion
received by the Commission.
International
Energy Agency (IEA)
has recently released its
latest market report --Land attack version was test fired from the Launch Pad 3 of
titled “Coal 2019”. the Integrated Test Range (ITR) Chandipur.
―The key highlights of --The air force variant was fired from a fighter jet which flew
the report are: from the Kalaikunda airbase.
--The coal demand in India is expected to touch 748 Million ―Most of the components of the land based missile are
Tonne (MT) in 2024. indigenous. These trials were conducted for checking the
--Domestic coal production in India is expected to touch 537 capability of the missiles. The missiles met all the trail
(MT) in 2024. parameters.
--India will become the fastest growing consumer in the world ―BrahMos are medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missiles
(in absolute terms). capable of being launched from submarines, warships, fighter
jets or land. These missiles have a strike range of 300 kilometres.
―India has also tested the extended version BrahMos missiles SPORTS
with range of 450 kilometres.
―BrahMos missiles are operational with the Indian Army,  The United World Wrestling (UWW)
Navy and Air Force. BrahMos is a joint venture of the DRDO has named World championships silver
of India and the NPOM of Russia. medallist Deepak Punia as the ‘Junior
Freestyle Wrestler of the Year’
POLICY AND GOVT. INITIATIVES ―This honour has been bestowed on Punia
due to his phenomenal transition from
 The Indian Government is
junior wrestling circuit to senior wrestling
testing a prototype of secure Deepak Punia
circuit.
messaging App code named
―In 2019, Punia became the first Indian wrestler in 18 years
‘Government Instant
to win a junior world title.
Messaging System’ (GIMS).
―In 2019, Punia won a silver medal during his debut at the
―GIMS is being developed by
Senior World Wrestling Championships.
the Kerala Unit of the National
―Punia’s performance has made him reach the No. 1 ranking
Informatics Centre (NIC).
in the UWW rankings (86 kg).
―GIMS is being designed as an
 Rohit Sharma has made several records
Indian equivalent of instant
during the recent One Day International
messaging platforms like
(ODI) Cricket matches between India and
WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook
West Indies.
Messenger, Hangout etc.
―Sharma has made the highest individual
―The Government will target the employees of the Central and
scores by an Indian in 2019.
State Government as the adopters of these services for intra and
―This is the seventh consecutive year in
inter organisation communications.
which Sharma has scored the highest Rohit Sharma
―Some states including Odisha are testing the pilot of the
individual runs in the calendar year.
GIMS.
--2013: Rohit Sharma (209)
―GIMS have also been released to the Indian Navy on the trail
--2014: Rohit Sharma (264)
basis.
--2015: Rohit Sharma (150)
―GIMS will also have a GIMS Portal which will administer
--2016: Rohit Sharma (171*)
and monitor the platform.
--2017: Rohit Sharma (208*)
 The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH)
--2018: Rohit Sharma (162)
has released draft
―Sharma has become the first cricketer to hit 75 sixes in ODIs
notifications for
in a single year.
regulation and registration
―The previous record of 74 sixes in ODIs in a single year was
of old vintage vehicles.
also held by Sharma.
―Key highlights of the
―Sharma has also become the only cricketer to score 8, 150+
draft notifications are:
scores in the ODIs.
--They will apply to
―The previous record was held by David Warner with 6, 150+
vintage and classic cars
ODI scores.
which are at least 50 years
―Sharma has also become the only cricketer to score seven ODI
old.
100s in 2019.
--The number plate of
 The International Cricket Council (ICC) is investigating the
these vehicles will include
Qatar T10 league.
“VA” letters for
highlighting their vintage status.
--They will be exempted from scrappage requirements.
--These vehicles will be allowed on public roads under wide
variety of conditions excluding commercial use.
--These vehicles will however not be allowed on road for regular
purposes.
--The owners of these vehicles will have to pay a one-time fee
of Rs 20,000
--The registration granted to these vehicles will be valid for a
period of ten years.
―This notification has been released for protecting the
collectors of vintage vehicles from harassment from different
―This investigation was started after ICC intercepted a number
enforcement agencies.
of known corruptors in the event sanctioned a year ago.
―Previously vintage cars were allowed to participate in vintage
―ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit has been working with
car rallies without registration requirements.
organisations for monitoring the Qatar T10 league since its
―The Ministry has invited comments from stakeholders and
general public for these notifications. inception.
―Currently there is no formal procedure in India for registering ―The Qatar T10 held its inaugural edition 10-over format
old vintage cars. tournament from December 7 to December 16, 2019.
―The government had earlier made special allowance for ―Six teams including more than 24 international cricketers
vintage cars participating in vintage car rallies to operate participated in the edition.
without registration.  Kuldeep Yadav has become the first Indian to take two hat-
tricks in international cricket ODIs.
―Kuldeep’s first hat trick was made against
Australia at Eden Gardens, Kolkata in 2019.
―Kuldeep’s second hat trick was made in the
recent ODI cricket matches against West
Indies.
―This is the fifth hat-trick made by an Indian
bowler in ODIs.
Kuldeep Yadav
―Previously Chetan Sharma, Kapil Dev
and Mohammed Shami have made hat tricks for India in ODIs.
―Harbhajan Singh and Irrfan Pathan have made hat tricks
for India in International Test Cricket Matches.
―Kuldeep has become the fifth cricketer in the World to make
two hat tricks in the ODIs.
―Lasith Malinga of Sri Lanka is the only bowler in history of
Cricket to make three hat tricks in ODIs.
―Wasim Akram, Saqlain Mushtaq, Chaminda Vaas and
Trent Boult are the four other crickets who have made two hat
tricks in the ODIs.
―In 2019, India made history by securing five international hat-
tricks. The other hat-tricks were as under:
--Hat trick by Shami against Afghanistan in World Cup 2019.
--Hat trick by Jasprit Bumrah in Tests during India’s tour of
West Indies.
--Hat trick by Deepak Chahar against Bangladesh in the T20I
series
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
 The House of Representatives in the
United States has voted for
impeachment of the President Donald
Trump on charges of abuse of power.
―Trump is being accused of trying to
pressurise Ukraine to investigate political
rival Joe Biden ahead of the 2020
Presidential election.
―Trump has become the third President
Donald Trump
to be impeached in the History of the
United States.
―In past, Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson were impeached.
―Donald Trump has denied the allegations and called the
impeachment inquiry a witch hunt.
―Donald Trump is a Republican. Republicans control the US
Senate in which the matter of impeachment will be taken up
sometime in January.
―US Senate is unlikely to vote against the Republican
president.
―No President in the United States has been removed from the
office of the President due to impeachment till now.
 The Australian and Indonesian researchers have claimed the
cave paintings found on Indonesia’s Sulawesi Island as the
earliest known pictorial record of storytelling.
―The cave painting in question depicts human like figures
(therianthropes or humans with animal characteristics) hunting
animals like warty pigs using ropes and spears.
―This cave painting was found in a limestone cave in 2017.
―The uranium-series analysis dates this painting to be nearly
44,000 years old.
―Before this dating, the ivory sculpture found in a cave in
Germany were regarded as the oldest rock art (dated to be
40,000 years old).
―The ivory sculpture depicts a human body with a feline like
head.
 The United States’ administration has exempted India from
sanctions on the Chabahar port in Iran.
―The Chabahar port situated on the Indian Ocean in the Sistan
and Baluchistan provinces of Iran, is being jointly developed by
India, Iran and Afghanistan.
―The Chabahar port opens way for India, Iran and Afghanistan
to trade with central Asian nations.
―The Chabahar port is seen as India’s counter to the Pakistan’s
Gwadar Port.
―Gwadar Port is being developed with the help of China.
―The exemption will hold as long as the Iran’s Revolutionary
Guards Corps (IRGC) are kept out of the port project.
―This exemption has been granted because Chabahar Port
plays an important role for providing supplies to war torn
Afghanistan.
SUMMITS AND ORGANIZATIONS
 The two-week
Madrid climate
conference was the
longest climate
conference and it has
failed to arrive at any
conclusion.
―Several countries
rejected the draft agreement text and the conference had to
remove all the different phrases and provisions which were
being objected to and the final agreement lacked specific
decisions.
―The Madrid climate conference had one major agenda item;
to frame rules for a new carbon market under Paris Agreement.
―The issue of setting of a new carbon market under Paris
Agreement has been deferred to next year.
―The 2015 Paris Agreement will become operational next year.
Before this, the rules for the new carbon market will have to be
finalised.
―The latest climate studies show that the commitments under
Paris Agreement will not be enough to limit the progress of
global warming.
BASIC GK ASPECTS
Books and Authors
The Silence and the Storm: Narratives of Violence against
Women in India―by Kalpana Sharma
The Angel’s Beauty Spots―by K.R. Meera
India’s Military Conflicts and Diplomacy: An Inside View of
Decision Making―by General V.P. Malik
Death in the Himalayas―by Udayan Mukherjee
Wonked!: India in Search of an Economic Ideology―by
Vivan Sharan
The New World Disorder and the Indian Imperative―by
Shashi Tharoor and Samir Saran
Awards and Honours
 Tony-Ann Singh of Jamaica has been
crowned as Miss World 2019.
―Singh is the fourth Jamaican to be
honoured with the Miss World title.
―This honour was bestowed on Singh on
December 14, during the 69th edition of the
beauty pageant held in London. Tony-Ann Singh
―Singh received her crown from the Miss
World 2018 Vanessa Ponce (Mexican).
―Ophely Mezino of France was the first runner up.
―Suman Rao from Rajasthan, India was the second runner up.
―Contestants from 120 countries competed in this beauty
pageant.
 23 writers have been selected for Sahitya Akademi Award
2019.
These winners include:
--Shashi Tharoor for his book “An Era of Darkness”
--Nand Kishore Acharya for his poetry book “Chheelatey Hue
Apne Ko“
--Phukan Ch. Basumatary (Bodo poetry)
--Niba A Khandekar (Konkani poetry)
--Kumar Manish Arvind (Maithili poetry)
--V Madhusoodanan Nair (Malayalam poetry)
--Anuradha Patil (Marathi poetry)
--Penna Madhusudan (Sanskrit poetry).
--Joysree Goswami Mahanta (Assamese novel)
--L Birmangol Singh (Manipuri novel)
--Cho Dharman (Tamil novel)
--Bandi Narayan Swami (Telugu novel)
--Abdul Ahad Hajini (Kashmiri short story)
--Tarun Kanti Mishra (Odia short story)
--Kripal Kazak (Punjabi short story)
--Ramswaroop Kisan (Rajasthani short story)
--Kali Charan Hembram (Santali short story)
--Ishwar Moorjani (Sindhi short story).
--Vijaya (Kannada non-fiction)
--Shafey Kidwai (Urdu non-fiction)
--Chinmoy Guha (Bengali essaya)
--Om Sharma Jandriari (Dogri essays)
--Ratilal Borisagar (Gujarati essays)
―The winners of the award will receive an engraved copper
plate and Rs 1 lakh cash prize.
 Author Amitabha Bagchi has been
awarded with DSC Prize for South Asian
Literature 2019, for his novel ‘Half the
Night is Gone’. Half the Night is Gone is
Bagchi’s third novel. The other shortlisted
works for the DSC Prize were:
--The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay
--The City and the Sea- by Raj Kamal Jha Amitabha Bagchi
--There’s Gunpowder in the Air by
Manoranjan Byapari
--The Empty Room by Sadia Abbas
--99 Nights in Logar by Jamil Jan Kochi
―The 2019 DSC Prize was the ninth edition of the awards.
―This year saw 90 entries from 22 publishers.
Appointments
 Nagaland Governor R N Ravi has been
granted additional charge of Meghalaya.
―Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy has
gone on leave citing medical reasons.
―One of the recent tweets of Tathagata Roy
regarding Citizenship Amendment Act had
created controversy.
 According to the news reports, Vice Chief
of the Army, Lieutenant General Manoj RN Ravi
Mukund Naravane is set to become the
next Indian Army Chief.
―Lt-Gen Narayane will succeed General Bipin Rawat when
the later retires on Dec 31, 2019. Lt Gen Narayane is the senior
most officer in the Indian Army after Gen Rawat.
―Lt Gen Narayane will remain in office till April 2022. Lt Gen
Naravane took charge as Vice Chief on Sep 1, 2019.
―Before his appointment as the Vice Chief of the Army, Lt Gen
Narayane was in charge of the Eastern Command of the Indian
Army.
People in News
 Greta Thunberg has been named Time
Magazine’s 2019 Person of the Year.
―Thunberg is the Swedish schoolgirl who
started the global movement by demanding
action on climate change.
―Thunberg is the youngest individual ever to
be named TIME’s Person of the Year.
 German Chancellor Angela Merkel has Greta Thunberg
been ranked by Forbes as the World’s Most
Powerful Women for the ninth consecutive year.
―Christine Lagarde (President of the European Central Bank)
has been selected as the second most influential women in the
world.
―Lagarde was followed by Nancy Pelosi (Speaker US House
of Representatives), Ursula Von Der Leyen (President of
European Commission) and Mary Barra (CEO of General
Motors) as the third, fourth and fifth most influential women in
the world.
―Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was ranked at
34.
―Greta Thunberg was ranked at 100.
―Forbes Magazine’s list of 100 World’s Most Powerful
Women celebrates the most influential women of our times.
Must-Know
CAA: Citizenship (Amendment) Act
CEO: Chief Executive Officer
DRDO: Defence Research and Development Organisation
ECB: European Central Bank
GIMS: Government Instant Messaging System
ICC: International Cricket Council
IEA: International Energy Agency
IIT: Indian Institute of Technology
IRGC: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps
NCLAT: National Company Law Appellate Tribunal
NIC: National Informatic Centre
NRC: National Register of Citizens
ODI: One Day international
USCIRF: United States Commission on international
Religious Freedom
UWW: United World Wrestling
WEF: World Economic Forum
Days/Anniversaries
 International Migrants Day is observed across the globe
annually on December 18.
―The International Migrants Day is observed with the objective
of protecting the rights of the migrants.
―The observation of International Migrants Day was adopted
by the United Nations in 1990 at the International Convention
on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers.
―According to UN estimates one-seventh of the global
population or 1 billion people are migrants.
―The 2019 International Migrants Day was observed with the
theme, “Social Cohesion, Celebrating the integration of
migrants into communities around the world.”
 Indian Armed Forces Flag Day is celebrated annually on
December 7.
―The first Indian Armed Forces day was celebrated in 1949.
―This day is observed for collecting funds from the Indian
Citizens for the welfare of Indian Armed Forces.