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Current Affairs Capsule – 15 December 2019

December 15, 2019
Posted by: Team CP
Category: Current Affairs Capsule

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The Union Cabinet, on 11th December, 2019, gave its approval to authorize the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to set up the Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT), as per the guidelines issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). It was proposed by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
International Universal Health Coverage Day is observed every year on 12th December across the world, to call for strong and equitable health systems that leave no one behind. The day is promoted by the World Health Organization (WHO). The day aims to raise awareness of the need for strong and resilient health systems and universal health coverage with multi-stakeholder partners. The theme for the UHC Day 2019 campaign is ‘Keep the Promise.’
Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (IC) Prahlad Singh Patel in New Delhi, launched the Indian Culture web portal “http://www.indian culture.gov.in” where knowledge and cultural resources of various organizations of the Ministry of Culture are available in the public domain on a single platform. The Indian Culture portal was envisioned by the Union Ministry of Culture and was developed by a team from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay in collaboration with the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU).
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the signing of the Agreement on Social Security between the Republic of India and the Federative Republic of Brazil on 11th December, 2019. It aims to protect the interests of Indian professionals and skilled workers working abroad for short durations and enhance the competitiveness of Indian companies. The agreement would promote the inclusiveness and equity for the Indians living in Brazil and vice versa.
The world’s first fully electric commercial aircraft successfully took its inaugural test flight, taking off from Vancouver, Canada. It was designed by Harbour Air and magniX. The flight involved a six-passenger DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver with a 750-horsepower (560 kW) magni500 propulsion system. It was piloted by Greg McDougall, founder and chief executive of Harbour Air.
India finished on top with the highest ever medal haul of 312 medals, comprising of 174 gold, 93 silver and 45 bronze medals, at the 13th South Asian Games (SAG), which concluded on 10th December, 2019 in Nepal. The host nation Nepal stood second with 206 medals and Sri Lanka at third position with 251 medals. The South Asian Games is a biennial multi-sporting event of South Asia, governed by the South Asia Olympic Council (SAOC), which was formed in 1983.
Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty has been appointed as the brand ambassador of India’s anti-doping body National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA). It is expected that his celebrity status will help the NADA’s efforts to clean up sports in the country from the menace. More than 150 athletes have failed dope tests this year. Because of the suspension of the National Anti-Doping Laboratory (NADL) by the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) in 2019, dope samples collected by the NADA from the athletes will have to be tested outside India.
The Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), which measures renewable energy share, emissions and climate policies of 57 countries and the European Union was released at the COP25 on 10th December, 2019 in Madrid, Spain. Sweden topped the index and India was ranked 9th. India ranked among top 10 countries for the first time. The United States was included in the worst-performing countries for the first time.