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Important Current Affairs 26th December 2019

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

WHO global report on trends in prevalence of tobacco smoking 2000-2025.

• On December 19, 2019, The World Health Organisation (WHO) released its 3rd edition of global report on trends in the prevalence of tobacco use 2000-2025.

• As per the report despite decline in tobacco usage, India is off-track to achieve a 30% reduction in tobacco use by 2025 when compared to its 2010 levels.

• 163 nations besides India are also not on track in this regard.

• The consumption in India is going down by 21.6% points. In male, the consumption will go down to 35.8% from 57.3% by 2025. The consumption in female for the same period will decline to 8% from 29.8%.

• Based on current progress by India, a reduction in the tobacco usage by 23% by 2025 is expected in the country.

NATIONAL NEWS

Dharmendra Pradhan presents India’s first long distance CNG bus.

• Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan unveiled India’s first long distance Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) bus fitted with composite CNG cylinders, which can travel around 1,000 kilometre in a single fill.

• The project has been executed by Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) and has been achieved through design of Type IV Composite Cylinders in buses, replacing traditional very heavy Type-I Carbon Steel cylinders

• Mahindra & Mahindra along with Agility Fuel Solutions of USA have partnered with IGL for introducing the new concept of light weight Type IV composite cylinders in buses.

IGL has procured five Mahindra’s Type IV buses. The Buses would be given to Uttarakhand Transport Corporation (UTC) on lease basis after the launch. These will ply on Inter-city routes from Delhi to Dehradun and will be the first CNG Buses in Uttarakhand.

Telangana govt raises retirement age of RTC staff to 60 yrs

• Telangana government has decided to raise the retirement age of employees of the Road Transport Corporation, RTC to 60 from the current 58 years.

• The decision will be applicable to all cadres of employees of the state-owned RTC.

• Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao also asked RTC management to launch cargo and parcel services to all destinations wherever an RTC bus could reach in the state.

• About Telangana:

• Capital: Hyderabad

• Governor: Tamilisai Soundararajan

• Chief minister: K. Chandrashekar Rao

Centre releases Good Governance Index ranking States and UTs in 10 sectors

• Tamil Nadu topped the Good Governance Index launched by the Centre. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh followed among the ‘Big States’.

• Among the ‘Big States’, the poor performers are Odisha, Bihar, Goa, and Uttar Pradesh with Jharkhand coming last.

• The States and UTs are divided into three groups — Big States, North-East and Hill States, and Union Territories.

• Among the North-East and Hill States, Himachal Pradesh was ranked first, followed by Uttarakhand, Tripura, Mizoram and Sikkim. The worst performers in this group are Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, with Arunachal Pradesh coming last.

• Puducherry is the best governed Union Territory followed by Chandigarh and Delhi. Lakshwadeep is the worst performing UT.

• The rankings were launched by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, and the Centre for Good Governance.

• In the agriculture and allied ranking, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram and Daman and Diu are the best performing States in their groups. This rating took into account the growth rate of agriculture and allied sector, foodgrains production, horticulture produce, milk and meat production, and crop insurance.

• While assessing the performance of commerce and industries across States, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and Delhi top the lists of their groups.

SPORTS

Leander Paes to retire from Tennis in 2020.

• India veteran tennis player Leander Paes announced that the coming year, 2020, will be his last year on the court.

• Paes has won eight doubles and ten mixed doubles Grand Slam titles. He received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, India’s highest sporting honor, in 1996-97; the Arjuna Award in 1990; the Padma Shri award in 2001; and India’s third- highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan prize in January 2014, for his outstanding contribution to tennis.

• He won a bronze medal for India in singles in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. He competed in consecutive Olympics from 1992 to 2016, making him the first Indian and only tennis player to compete at seven Olympic Games.

Virat Kohli named in Wisden cricketers of the decade list

• Indian skipper ViratKohli is one of the five players named in the Wisden Cricketers of the Decade.

• Kohli joins Australian batsman Steve Smith, and South Africans, Dale Steyn, and AB de Villiers.

• Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry is the only female cricketer in the list.

James Anderson first specialist bowler in history to play 150 Test matches.

• England’s 37-year-old fast bowler James Anderson has become the first specialist bowler in history to play 150 Test matches.

• Anderson achieved the feat after taking the field in the Boxing Day Test against South Africa in Centurion.

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS

Kumar Sanjay Krishna new chief secretary of Assam.

• The Assam government appointed senior IAS officer Kumar Sanjay Krishna as the new chief secretary.

• A state government order said that Krishna, a 1985 batch IAS officer at present the additional chief secretary Home, Political and Disaster Management will take over as the chief secretary after the incumbent Alok Kumar retires on December 31.

• The Assam government also transferred nine senior IAS officers.

• Jishnu Barua will be the Additional Chief Secretary Home and Political and Revenue and Disaster Management Departments in addition to his present duties of Secretariat Administration (Archives) Department, the order said.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile System (QRSAM) is successfully flight tested by DRDO from Chandipur in Odisha.

• On December 23, 2019, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has flight-tested its Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM) from Chandipur district of Odisha.

• This missile was tested with the full configuration in deployment mode intercepting the target in mid-air and meeting mission objectives.

• With this mission, developmental trials of the weapon system are completed and weapon system is expected to be ready for induction by 2021.

• This missile is developed by DRDO in association with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) for the Indian Army.

• Range of this missile is 30 kms.

• This missile is an all-weather, all-terrain surface-to-air missile.

About DRDO:

Chairman- Dr G Satheesh Reddy

Headquarters- New Delhi

Founded- 1958

OBITUARY

Renowned Hindi author Ganga Prasad Vimal passes away.

• Renowned Hindi author Ganga Prasad Vimal and his two family members were killed in a road accident in southern Sri Lanka.

• Born in 1939 in Uttarkashi, a Himalayan town in Uttarakhand, Vimal held key responsibilities in Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University and Kendriya Hindi Sansthan, Agra.

• He wrote more than one dozen poetry collections, short story collections and novels. His last novel, Manushkhor, was published in 2013. He received several Hindi literary awards.

World Cup winner Martin Peters MBE passes away, aged 76.

• England World Cup winner Martin Peters has died, aged 76, his former club West Ham United said

• Peters was part of the 1966 World Cup-winning side and scored in the final against West Germany.

• Peters joined West Ham in 1959 as a 15-year-old, made his debut in 1962 and was a key player in the side who won the 1965 Cup Winners Cup final at Wembley.

• Peters won the UEFA Cup and two League Cups with Tottenham.

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