Greta Thunberg named Time magazine’s person of the year

1.Maldives sign contract with joint venture of Indian companies for development of Addu

Maldives government signed a contract with a joint venture of Indian companies for preparation of project report and development of Addu, the second biggest city in the island nation.The contract was signed by L&T engineering limited and Lea associates south asia for the Addu Road and Reclamation Project.

The scope of the project includes land reclamation, construction of roads and storm water drainage system in Addu.

This will upgrade existing infrastructure and mitigate the flood situation in Addu.

It will be financed through 800 million US dollars line of credit extended by EXIM bank of India for strengthening of Indo- Maldives development cooperation.

It is the second project after water and sanitation project in 34 islands.

2.2-plus-2 India-US dialogue to be held on Dec 18

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

In addition, both sides will exchange views on salient regional and global issues.

The India-US 2 plus 2 Ministerial Dialogue was initiated in September 2018 in order to provide a positive, forward-looking vision for the India-US strategic partnership and to promote synergy in diplomatic and security efforts.

3.President Kovind gives assent to Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019

President Ram Nath Kovind has given his assent to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, turning it into an Act.The Act comes into effect with its publication in the official gazette.

The Act makes illegal migrants of six communities – Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 eligible for Indian citizenship.

The amendment is not applicable to the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and  Tripura as included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution and in the areas covered under the Inner Line Permit.

The Inner Line Permit regime is applicable in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram.

4.ISRO begins preparations for setting up third rocket launchpad

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has begun preparatory work for setting up a third rocket launchpad in the small coastal hamlet of Kulashekhrapattinam in the Thuthukudi district of Tamil Nadu.The District Administration has appointed a Special Tehsildar along with eight more Tahsildars to speed up the process of land acquisition for the centre.

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has two launch pads at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

The demand for additional launch pads has arisen as a result of the increase in the number of satellite launches from India, both for domestic and international customers.

5.GIFT city welcomes Lok Sabha nod to IFSC Authority Bill, 2019

Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) in Gujarat has welcomed the passing of the International Financial Services Centres Authority Bill, 2019 by Lok Sabha.Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of GIFT City- India’s only IFSC- International Financial Services Centre- Mr. Tapan Ray said that the International Financial Services Centres Authority Bill, 2019 passed by Lok Sabha is a welcome step.

This will further accelerate and fast track development of the IFSC at GIFT City.

6.Indian ‘Greta’ urges global leaders to take immediate action to save planet

Eight-year-old Licypriya Kangujam, known as Indian ‘Greta’ for her passion towards the fight against climate change has urged global leaders to take immediate action to save the planet and the future of young children like her.Speaking at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP-25  at Madrid, the young activist from Manipur who has already spoken in 21 countries on climate change, gave the world a glimpse of her resolve as she urged global leaders to act now against climate change.

The little girl has quickly shot to limelight with Spanish newspapers hailing her as ‘Greta’ of the Global South.

7.November retail inflation reaches 5.54%, at 3-year high

India’s retail inflation in November rose to 5.54% from 4.62% in October, highest since 2016 and over RBI’s medium-term target of 4%.Higher food prices contributed to the spike. Food price inflation (Rural and urban) climbed 10.01% in November.

During the month, inflation in vegetables shot up to 35.99 per cent, as against 26.10 per cent in October.

Inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 4.62 per cent in October, and 2.33 per cent in November 2018.

8.Greta Thunberg named Time magazine’s person of the year

Greta Thunberg, the teen activist from Sweden who has urged immediate action to address a global climate crisis, was named Time magazine’s person of the year for 2019.She is the youngest person to have ever received the accolade.

Thunberg, 16, was lauded by Time for starting an environmental campaign in August 2018 which became a global movement, initially skipping school and camping out in front of the Swedish parliament to demand action.

9.Odisha receives Best State Promoting Sports award at the FICCI Sports Awards-2019

Odisha government bagged the prestigious Best State Promoting Sports Award at the FICCI India Sports Awards 2019 in New Delhi.State sports minister Tusharkanti Behera and sports secretary Vishal Dev received the award on behalf of the state government.

This award is a recognition of the state’s exemplary contribution towards the development of sports infrastructures and promotion of various sports.

10.Space startup with AI solution to stubble burning wins ‘Space Oscar’

The application ‘Zuri’ developed by Blue Sky Analytics, A Gurgaon-based startup, won Copernicus Masters award given by the Earth observation program managed by the European Commission in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA).It is also dubbed as ‘Space Oscars’.

Zuri was selected under social entrepreneurship category.

The startup is working in utilizing satellite data to solve environmental problems and using its AI (artificial intelligence)- based tool to measure and monitor farm fires and stubble burning across India.

It is an AI-enabled platform that uses satellite data for improved monitoring, supply chain and pricing analysis as well as allocation of crop waste for use in other industries as raw material.