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Current Affairs Capsule – December 24, 2019

December 24, 2019
Posted by: Team CP
Category: Current Affairs Capsule

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The World Health Organisation (WHO) released a report on Global Tobacco Use Trends. The number of males using tobacco is on the decline for the first time as per the report, indicating a powerful shift in the global tobacco epidemic. The overall global tobacco use has fallen from 1.397 billion in 2000 to 1.337 billion in 2018 that is by approximately 60 million people. India is off track to achieve 30 per cent reduction of tobacco use by 2025 as compared to 2010 levels as per the report.
Weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu won the gold medal in the women’s 49kg category at the 6th Qatar International Cup in Doha on 20th December, 2019. The 24-year-old Manipuri lifted 83kg in snatch and 111kg in clean and jerk to finish on top of the podium. Chanu is a 2018 Commonwealth Games (CWG) gold-medallist.
US President Donald Trump on 20th December, 2019 signed a legislation to create ‘Space Force’, a full-fledged Pentagon force for combat in outer space. The legislation will create the Department of Defense’s sixth force, a coequal of the five existing forces – the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. The Space Force will be comprised of about 16,000 Air Force and civilian personnel.
China-Brazil Earth Resource Satellite 4A (CBERS 4A), an earth observation satellite jointly developed by China and Brazil, was launched into space on a Long March-4B rocket under a bilateral programme in the northern Chinese province of Shanxi. It will obtain global optical remote-sensing data and will also support Brazil to monitor Amazon rainforest and changes in the country’s environment. It is the sixth satellite developed under the China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite (CBERS) programme that began in 1988.
The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) celebrated the Centenary Foundation Celebration Day on 20th December, 2019 in New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated and addressed the event under the theme ‘New India Aspiring for 5 trillion USD’. ASSOCHAM, the apex trade association of India, was established in 1920 by promoter chambers, representing all the regions of India.
National Rail Transport Institute (NRTI) signed a MoU with the University of Birmingham in Rail Bhawan, New Delhi on December 18th, 2019 to set up its first Centre of Excellence for Next Generation Transportation Systems. The Indian Railways is a founding partner of this centre and would provide proprietary data, professional expertise, spare equipment and other available resources. The NRTI is a deemed to be a university under the Ministry of Railways that has been operational since 2018.
Jigneh Patel, a fellow at the Center for Healthcare Entrepreneurship (CfHE) at the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad has launched a first-of-its kind service in India ‘Vaccination on Wheels Clinic’ in Pune in collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which provided a grant for the service under the Foundation’s ‘Grand Challenges Explorations’. Called ‘VaccineOnWheels.com’ as they have adopted Vaccination On Wheels (VOW) concept, this clinic will go to schools, colleges and corporates to conduct vaccination camps at their doorsteps.