Daily Current Affairs 31 December 2019

Daily Current Affairs 31 December 2019: Your guide for daily General Knowledge Preparation

Dear Readers,

This post contains important current affairs of 31 December 2019. It includes all Major National, International, Business and Sports related current affairs of 31 December 2019. A brief explanation of every current affair is provided to further enhance your general knowledge. Once you have gone through these current affairs we would recommend to you to try 31 December 2019 Current affairs test.

National News

1. New Indian Army chief

General Manoj Mukund Naravane took charge as the 28th Chief of Army Staff.
He succeeded General Bipin Rawat who retired on 31st December, 2019.

2. New DG of Central Reserve Police Force

S S Deswal has been given the additional charge to head Central Reserve Police Force replacing R R Bhatnagar.
S S Deswal is presently serving as the Director General of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

3. India State of Forest Report 2019

Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change released the 16th edition of ‘India State of Forest Report (ISFR)’ in New Delhi.
The report is published by the Forest Survey of India.
The total forest and tree cover of the country is 80.73 million hectare which is the 24.56% of the total geographical area of the country.
Area-wise, Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover in the country.
In terms of forest cover as percentage of total geographical area, the top five States are Mizoram (85.41%), Arunachal Pradesh (79.63%), Meghalaya (76.33%), Manipur (75.46%) and Nagaland (75.31%).
The total mangrove cover in the country is 4,975 sq km which showed an increase of 54 sq Km as comapre to that of 2017.
Top three states showing mangrove cover increase are Gujarat (37 sq km) followed by Maharashtra (16 sq km) and Odisha (8 sq km).

4. DefExpo India-2020

DefExpo India-2020 to be held in Lucknow for the first time.
Theme: ‘India: The Emerging Defence Manufacturing Hub’.

International News

1. Allee Willis passes away

American songwriter Allee Willis has passed away
She penned the iconic “I’ll Be There For You” track for the long-running television show “Friends”.
Alta Sherral “Allee” Willis was an American songwriter, artist and art director. Willis co-wrote hit songs including “September” and “Boogie Wonderland” by Earth, Wind & Fire.

2. Longest single spaceflight by woman

NASA Astronaut Christina Koch has created a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman.
She surpassed the earlier record of 288 days in space by NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson in 2017.
Headquarters of NASA: Washington || Established: July 29,1958.

Business News

1. Book ‘Dreams of a Billion: India and the Olympic Games’

A book titled “Dreams of a Billion: India and the Olympic Games” author by Boria Majumdar with Nalin Mehta released.
The book comprises of all the wins, the misses, the star sportspersons, their stories, and the challenges and possibilities that lie ahead of India to make its mark in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

2. No Merchant Discount Rate on RuPay

Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) charges for businesses with over Rs 50 crore annual revenues will be waived off from January 1, 2020.
The digital transactions made using RuPay credit cards, or UPI QR codes will not face any additional charges for merchants or customers from January 1, 2020.
The Merchant Discount Rate is the percentage of the digital transaction that a merchant pays to banks

3. OTP-based ATM cash withdrawals

SBI will implement OTP-based ATM cash withdrawals of Rs 10,000 and above between 8 am and 8 pm from January 1 2020.
Chairperson of SBI : Rajnish Kumar || Headquarters: Mumbai || Founded: 1 July 1955.

Sports News

1. Peter Siddle retires

Australian pace bowler Peter Siddle has announced his retirement from International Cricket.
Peter Matthew Siddle is a former Australian cricketer. He is a specialist right-arm fast-medium bowler who currently plays for Victoria in first-class and List A cricket and for the Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League.

2. Khelo India Youth Games

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has launched torch relay of Khelo India Youth Games.
The 3rd edition of Khelo India Youth Games tournament will be held in January 2020.
Chief Minister of Assam: Sarbananda Sonowal || Governor: Jagdish Mukhi.

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