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Important Current Affairs 12th December 2019

NATIONAL NEWS

The 107th edition of the Indian Science Congress (ISC) will be inaugurated by PM Modi on 3rd January.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the five day 107th session of the Indian Science Congress on January 3, Karnataka Minister for IT-BT, Science and Technology Dr C Ashwath Narayan said.

• The 107th edition of Indian Science Congress (ISC) will be held at the University of Agricultural Sciences here from January 3 to 7, 2020.

• Themed “Science and Technology: Rural Development”, the event will bring together more than 15,000 delegates from the scientific fraternity and academia, Research& Development institutes, defence, government, PSUs and corporate houses.

• The ‘Pride of India Expo 2020’, organised concurrently with the ISC, will be a confluence of new ideas, innovations and products surrounding the entire canvas of scientific world will also be inaugurated simultaneously, the organisers said in a statement.

Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (CAB): All you need to know about.

• The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (CAB) is a bill amending the Citizenship Act of 1955 to make illegal migrants who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, who entered India on or before 31 December 2014, eligible for Indian citizenship.

•  Under the Act, one of the requirements for citizenship by naturalization is that the applicant must have resided in India during the last 12 months, and for 11 of the previous 14 years.

• The Bill relaxes this 11-year requirement to five years for persons belonging to the same six religions and three countries.

• The bill exempts the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura, included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution from its applicability.

• As per the citizenship bill, a foreigner may register as an OCI under the 1955 Act if they are of Indian origin.

• It entitles the OCI cardholders to benefits such as the right to travel to India, and to work and study in the country.

• The new bill amends the Act to allow cancellation of OCI registration if the person has violated any law notified by the Central government.

Need:

• In the 2019 election campaign, the BJP’s manifesto reiterated its commitment to bring in the Bill.

• The National Register of Citizens (NRC) was updated in Assam state in 2019, leaving out 1.9 million residents, a majority of whom were Hindus, without citizenship.

• This matter brought urgency to the bring in the Bill.

Legislative History:

• The Union Cabinet cleared the Bill on 4 December 2019. It was passed by the Lok Sabha on 10 December 2019 and, subsequently, in the Rajya Sabha on 11 December 2019.

• Now the Bill will go to the President for his assent. As many as 125 lawmakers voted in the favour of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and 99 against it.

Political parties involved:

• The CAB was supported by BJP, JD(U), SAD, AIADMK, BJD, TDP and YSR-Congress. The Shiv Sena did not participate in the voting.

How much of Northeast does the Bill cover?

• CAB won’t apply to areas under the sixth schedule of the Constitution – which deals with autonomous tribal-dominated regions in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.

• The bill will also not apply to states that have the inner-line permit regime (Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram).

Why is Assam angry about it?

• Among the states in the Northeast, the outrage against CAG has been the most intense in Assam.

• While a chunk of these states have been exempted from the legislation, CAB overs a large part of Assam. 

• The protests stem from the fear that illegal Bengali Hindu migrants from Bangladesh, if regularised under CAB, will threaten cultural and linguistic identities of the state.

Isn’t it the same like the NRC?

• The National Register of Citizens or NRC that we saw in Assam targeted illegal immigrants.

• A person had to prove that either they, or their ancestors were in Assam on or before March 24, 1971.

• NRC, which may be extended to the rest of the country, is not based on religion unlike CAB.

Inauguration of Navarms 2019 4th International Seminar Cum Exhibition on Naval Weapon Systems held in New Delhi.

• The 4th edition of International Seminar cum Exhibition on Naval Weapon Systems ‘NAVARMS-19’ begins in Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis, Development Enclave, New Delhi.

• The theme of the Exhibition is “Make in India – Fight Category: Opportunities and Imperatives”.

• NAVARMS is the only international seminar and exhibition on Naval Weapon Systems conducted in the country. It invites all the stakeholders in the life cycle management of Naval Weapons and provides a common platform to share their views and concerns.

Puma Signs Sunil Chhetri as Brand Ambassador for 3 Years

• The German multinational brand PUMA has roped in Indian national football team’s captain Sunil Chhetri as the brand ambassador under a three-year deal.

• The 35-year-old Bengaluru Football Club skipper now joins global players like Antoine Griezmann, Romelu Lukaku, Luis Suarez and Sergio Aguero among others to be Puma’s brand ambassador.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Greta Thunberg named Time Person of the Year for 2019

• Greta Thunberg, the Swedish schoolgirl who inspired a global movement to fight climate change, has been named Time magazine's Person of the Year for 2019.

• The 16-year-old is the youngest person to be chosen by the magazine in a tradition that started in 1927.

• Speaking at a UN climate change summit in Madrid before the announcement, she urged world leaders to stop using "creative PR" to avoid real action.

• The next decade would define the planet's future, she said.

• Last year, the teenager started an environmental strike by missing lessons most Fridays to protest outside the Swedish parliament building. It sparked a worldwide movement that became popular with the hashtag #FridaysForFuture.

• Since then, she has become a strong voice for action on climate change, inspiring millions of students to join protests around the world. Earlier this year, she was nominated as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.

• At the UN Climate Conference in New York in September, she blasted politicians for relying on young people for answers to climate change. In a now-famous speech, she said: "You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. We'll be watching you."

SPORTS

Graeme Smith: Former captain named South Africa acting director of cricket

• South Africa have appointed former captain Graeme Smith as acting director of cricket for three months, taking in England's four-match Test series starting later this month.

• Smith will take charge until the Indian Premier League starts in March, where he will take up a commentary position.

• The 38-year-old initially withdrew his application for the role last month.

• Smith's appointment comes at a difficult time for Cricket South Africa, with chief executive Thabang Moroe currently suspended after allegations of misconduct.

• Smith made his South Africa debut in 2002 and succeeded Shaun Pollock as captain the following year, becoming the Proteas' youngest ever skipper at the age of 22.

• He went on to play in 177 Test matches, 197 one-day internationals and 33 Twenty20 internationals before retiring in 2014.

Rohit Sharma Becomes 1st Indian To Hit 400 Sixes In International Cricket

• Opener Rohit Sharma has become the first Indian batsman to smash 400 sixes in international cricket.

• The 32-year-old achieved the feat by smashing his first six in the third T20I against West Indies in Mumbai.

• Overall, Rohit is the third cricketer to reach the milestone after Chris Gayle (534) and Shahid Afridi (476).

Rani and Saurabh honoured at FICCI India Sports Awards

• Indian women’s hockey team captain Rani and Asian Games gold medallist shooter Saurabh Chaudhary won the top honours at the FICCI India Sports Awards 2019.

• The awards are an attempt by FICCI to acknowledge and recognise the contribution of athletes and various stakeholders.

• Odisha’s sports minister Tusharkanti Behera and the state’s sports secretary Vishal Kumar Dev presented the awards to the winners.

• The FICCI India Sports Awards 2019 have been conferred by a jury headed by Mukul Mudgal, Retired Judge, Delhi High Court, and Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Former Afghanistan captain Asghar Afghan has been reappointed as the skipper across all the three formats of the game.

• Asghar was replaced with Rahmat Shah, Gulbadin Naib and Rashid Khan as Test, ODI and T20I captains, respectively in April this year.

• However, following the team’s poor run in the World Cup, leg-spinner Rashid Khan was named the captain across formats.

• The 32-year-old Asghar has represented Afghanistan in 111 ODIs, 66 T20 Internationals and 4 Test matches.

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS

Paytm's founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma has resigned as the director of Paytm Financial Services.

• Vijay Shekhar Sharma has resigned as the Director of Paytm Financial Services, citing “other preoccupations” as the reason.

• Replacing him is Rohit Lohia, who is currently Vice President of Paytm’s lending business and came on board the financial services company in July 2019.

• Sharma will continue as Founder and CEO of Paytm and Paytm’s parent company, One97 and also as the Chairman of Paytm’s financial entity.

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