INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Cabinet approves Memorandum of Understanding between India and Suriname

• The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Health of the Government of the Republic of Suriname on Cooperation in the field of Health and Medicine.
• The main areas of cooperation between the two Governments include the following:
  • Exchange and Training of medical doctors, officials, other health professionals and experts;
  • Assistance in development of human resources and setting up of health care facilities;
  • Short term training of human resources in health;
  • Regulation of pharmaceuticals, medical devices and cosmetics and exchange of information thereon;
  • Promotion of business development opportunities in pharmaceuticals;
  • Procurement of generic and essential drugs and assistance in sourcing of drug supplies;
  • Procurement of health equipment and pharmaceuticals products;
  • Tobacco control;
  • Promotion of mental health;
  • Early detection and management of depression
  • Digital health and Tele-medicine; and
  • Any other area of cooperation as may be mutually decided upon.

Facts on Suriname:

• Geographical Location: Northeastern coast of South America
• Capital: Paramaribo
• President of Suriname: Chan Santokhi
• Currency: Suriname Dollar

MoRTH signs MoU with Austria

• The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Republic of Austria on Technology Cooperation in the Road Infrastructure Sector.
• The MoU aims to create an effective framework for bilateral cooperation in the field of Road Transportation, Road/Highways infrastructure development, management and administration, Road safety and Intelligent Transport Systems between both countries.

Facts on Austria:

• Geographical Location: southern part of Central Europe.
• Capital: Vienna
• Currency: Euro
• President: Alexander Van der Bellen

NATIONAL NEWS

Quantum Communication between two DRDO Laboratories

• Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) developed the Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) technology.
• This technology was successfully tested between two laboratories of DRDO in Hyderabad.
• The technology is developed by CAIR, Bengaluru and DYSL-QT, Mumbai.
• Sharing of keys over the air or wired links requires encryption, which in turn requires encryption keys to be pre-shared. Quantum based communication offers a robust solution to sharing the keys securely.

Cabinet approves Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana

• Union Cabinet has approved Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana at an expenditure of Rs 1,584 crore for the current financial year.
• An amount of Rs 20,810 crore has been approved for the entire Scheme period 2020-2023.
• Under the scheme, the government will provide subsidy for two years in respect of new employees engaged on or after 1st October, 2020 and upto 30th June, 2021.

National Centre for Divyang Empowerment inaugurated

• National Centre for Divyang Empowerment inaugurated at CRPF Group Centre in Hakimpet near Hyderabad
• This is first of its kind establishment to re-skill and rehabilitate the Divyang Warriors of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) who suffered life threatening injuries in line of duty.
• The centre was inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy

BANKING NEWS

BSE Sensex hits 46,000 mark for 1st time

• Amid positive global cues, the BSE Sensex hit 46,000 mark for the first time and settles at 46,104
• In the forex market, the rupee depreciated three paise and settled at Rs 73.56 against the US dollar.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Human Rights Day

• International Human Rights Day is being celebrated, 10th December 2019.
• It commemorates the UN General Assembly’s adoption of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on December 10, 1948.
• The theme for this year’s commemoration is “Recover Better - Stand Up for Human Rights”.