Daily Current Affairs, 11th December 2019

1) International Mountain Day: 11 December

•International Mountain Day is held every year on 11 December globally. This day was established by the UN General Assembly in 2003 to encourage sustainable development in mountains. The theme for 2019 IMD is “Mountains Matter for Youth”.

•International Mountain Day is a chance to highlight that for rural youth, living in the mountains can be hard. Migration from the mountains leads to abandoned agriculture, land degradation and a loss of ancient cultural traditions. Education and training, market access, diverse employment opportunities and good public services can ensure a brighter future for young people in the mountains. This year, youth will take the lead and demand that mountains and mountain peoples become central in the national and international development agendas; receive more attention, investments and tailored research.

2) Delhi will host 6th Indian Ocean Dialogue and Delhi Dialogue XI

•The external affairs ministry is organising the 6th Indian Ocean Dialogue and Delhi Dialogue XI in New Delhi during December 13-14. For the first time, these two events will be held consecutively. The theme for the Indian Ocean Dialogue is “Indo-Pacific: Re-imagining the Indian Ocean through an Expanded Geography”, while the theme for the Delhi Dialogue is “Advancing Partnership in Indo-Pacific”. The themes are intended to build on the ‘growing recognition of the Indo-Pacific concept in strategic and academic circles within the region and beyond.

3) Odisha to set up 45 new fast track courts

•45 new fast track courts will be set up in Odisha. The 21 courts would be dedicated to cases of rape and sexual harassment of women. The remaining 24 fast track courts will specifically deal with Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) cases. The State government’s action comes after Centre’s decision to formulate a scheme for setting up 1,023 fast track special courts for expeditious trial and disposal of rape cases.

4) ISRO to launch earth observation satellite, RISAT-2BR1

•The ISRO(Indian Space Research Organisation) will launch its earth observation satellite, RISAT-2BR1 on PSLV-C48 from the First Launch Pad (FLP) of Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. RISAT-2BR1, a Radar imaging earth observation satellite weighing about 628 kg, will be placed into an orbit of 576 km at an inclination of 37 degrees.

•PSLV-C48, which is the 50th mission of PSLV, will also carry 9 customer satellites of Israel, Italy, Japan and USA as co-passengers. These international customer satellites are being launched under a commercial arrangement with NewSpace India Limited.

5) India among top 10 countries with higher climate performance

•India, for the first time, ranks among the top 10 in this year’s Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) at the COP25 climate summit in the Spanish capital Madrid. The current levels of per capita emissions and energy use in India ranked 9th in the high category showing that emissions are still comparatively low. However, despite a high rating for its Climate Policy performance, experts point out that India has yet to develop a roadmap to phase-out fossil fuel subsidies and reduce the country’s high dependence on coal.

•The authors of the report noted that while the country receives an overall medium rating in the renewable energy category, India’s 2030 renewable energy target is rated very high for its well-below 2 degrees Celsius compatibility. They noted that as none of the countries assessed is already on a path compatible with the Paris climate targets, the first three places of the ranking remain unoccupied. While some EU countries such as Sweden (4th) and Denmark (5th), one of the best climbers, achieve overall high or very high ratings, the performance of EU countries varies largely. While only two G20 countries, the UK (7th) and India (9th), are ranked in the high category, eight G20 countries are remaining in the worst category of the index. Australia (56th out of 61), Saudi Arabia and above all the US perform particularly poor. The index is jointly presented by Germanwatch, NewClimate Institute and Climate Action Network. China, the largest global emitter slightly improves its ranking in the index to 30th place.

6) Ethiopia’s PM receives Nobel Peace Prize

•Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has received the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to achieve international peace and co-operation. This year’s Nobel Peace Prize was the 100th to be awarded. The Nobel Peace Prize consists of a diploma, a gold medal and a cheque for 9 million Swedish kronor (850,000 euros). The Nobel Committee announced in October it was honouring Abiy Ahmed for his efforts to resolve the long-running conflict with neighbouring foe Eritrea.

7) India ranks 129th in Human Development Index 2019

•India has been ranked 129th among 189 countries in the Human Development Index 2019 released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). India was ranked 130th last year in the index. Norway, Switzerland, Ireland occupied the top three positions in the index. According to the report, South Asia was the fastest growing region in human development progress showing a 46% growth over 1990-2018, followed by East Asia and the Pacific at 43%.

8) India’s R. Praggnanandhaa wins London Chess Classic

•R. Praggnanandhaa from India has won the FIDE Open category of the London Chess Classic held in London. He won the tournament with a tally of 7.5 points out of nine rounds. The 14-year-old Indian chess player finished joint first with Anton Smirnov of Australia both scoring 7.5 points.

9) Suniel Shetty signed as anti-doping brand ambassador NADA

•Actor Suniel Shetty has been selected as the brand ambassador of National Anti-Doping Agency NADA. The country’s anti-doping body is hoping that his celebrity status helps its efforts to clean up sports in the country from the menace. More than 150 athletes have failed dope tests this year though bodybuilders make up more than one-third of these offenders.

•This is not a welcome sign with less than eight months to go for the Tokyo Olympic Games. The suspension of National Anti-Doping Laboratory by the WADA earlier this year is another issue facing the country now that dope samples collected by the National Anti-Doping Agency from the athletes will have to be tested outside India.

10) 13th South Asian Games concluded in Nepal

•The 13th South Asian Games concluded in Nepal. India finished on top with 312 medals comprising 174 gold, 93 silver and 45 bronze. Host Nepal remained second and Sri Lanka got third place. During the 10 days long biggest sporting event of South Asia, over 2700 athletes from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Maldives competed for 1119 medals. Sporting events in 26 games were held at Kathmandu, Pokhara and Janakpur.