 Integral Coach Factory (ICF) of Indian Railways has produced its 3000 Coaches in record 215 days. The 64-year-old production unit beat its own record by reducing the number of working days to achieve the target of making 3,000 coaches in 289 days in 2018-19 to 215 days this year and retained its position as the largest coach- maker in the world. |
| Source: The Hindu |
 On December 23, 2019, the department of fisheries (GoI), NABARD and Tamil Nadu Government signed an agreement to implement Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Fund (FIDF). The tripartite agreement set a total of Rs 7522 crores to address the infrastructure requirement of fisheries sector. |
| Highlights The fund includes setting up of berth facilities for safe landing for number of fishing vessels. It will also be used to increase fish production, stimulate fisheries related economic activities, and to boost economic activities in the region. The projects are to be implemented in the southern coasts of Tamil Nadu. The funding will also be used to augment deep sea fishing, cage culture and promote exports in the future. |
| Role of NABARD NABARD provides concessional financing to fisheries infrastructure facilities through state governments under FIDF. It is the Nodal Loaning Entity of the fisheries department. It also supports fisheries under Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) |
| Fisheries in Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu is the home of 10 lakh fisher families. The state is ideal for brackish water fisheries, marine fisheries and inland fisheries. Tamil Nadu ranks fourth in total fish production in the country. India ranks second in the world fish production. The fisheries sector in the country contributes to 1% of GDP of the country. |
 The Quality Council of India (QCI) recently released its survey on imported toys. According to the report, 66.9% of the toys failed the test. |
| Highlights The QCI conducted the testing on toys that were available in the Delhi markets and in the National Capital Region. Around 121 varieties were procured and submitted to NABL (National Accreditation Board for Testing and calibration Laboratories). Of the tested varieties, 30% of the plastic toys failed to meet the tests of permissible level of phthalate, heavy metals, etc. Around 80% of the toys failed to meet the physical and mechanical safety properties. In the soft toys, 45% failed on phthalate test and 75% failed on tests conducted on mechanical properties. Of the toys sold in Delhi markets, 85% are from China, followed by Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Germany. |
| Quality Council of India The QCI was set up in 1997 to establish and promote quality standards across social and economic sectors. The services offered by QCI include quality assessment, accreditation services, quality promotion, etc. It is associated with CII (Confederation of India Industry), ASSOCHAM (where PM Modi addressed its 100th year celebrations). The Council is governed by 38-members. The chairperson of the council is appointed by the PM of India. It functions through 5 main accreditation boards namely NABCB (National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies), NABET (National Accreditation Board for Education and Training), NBQP (National Board for Quality Promotion), NABH (National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers) and NABL. |
 Health officials in Eastern Congo recently documented the first relapse of current Ebola epidemic. The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has so far infected more than 3,300 people and killed more than 2,200 since the middle of 2018, making it the second-worst on record. According to World Health Organisation (WHO), this recent relapse happened in Aloya district where a motorcycle taxi operator is said to have come into contact with 33 people is potentially the cause of 11 new confirmed Ebola cases in past week. |
| What is Ebola? Ebola is a rare but deadly virus which was first identified in 1976 by researchers sent to investigate an ailment that was killing victims in a remote part of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The researchers team named the condition after the local Ebola river. Ebola causes Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), a rare and deadly disease in people and nonhuman primates. Ebola is triggered by a virus- probably picked up from an infected bat or non-human primate – that causes blood vessels to leak and can end in organ failure and death. Ebola has killed more than 11,000 people between 2013 and 2016. |
 On December 23, 2019, the Assam Cabinet nodded to make Assamese language the state language of Assam. This will exclude BTAD (Bodoland Territorial Administrative Districts), Barak Valley and Hill districts of Assam. |
| Highlights The cabinet has also suggested that Assamese will be made compulsory in all schools of Assam. The move comes in the wake of rising insecurities among Assamese population in the state. After the passing of Citizenship Amendment Bill, there has been an increased wave of insecurity in the Brahmaputra Valley. In order make the move successful, the Central Government will now have to amend Article 345. If amended the article will remove fears of people fighting for their rights to culture and language in the region. |
| Current Scenario Currently Assamese and Bodo are the official languages in Assam. However, certain districts of Assam in Barak valley use Bengali as official language |
Article 345
Article 345 says that subject to provisions of Article 346 and 347, the state legislature might adopt one or more languages to be used as official languages.
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| The factor of amendment comes in as the Assam Government intends to exclude a section of the state which is against the current constitutional provisions. |
 The traditional 40-day period of harshest winter in Kashmir known in the local parlance as ‘Chillai-Kalan’ began on 21 December 2019, with the upper reaches of valley receiving snowfall. Chillai-Kalan period which is known for sub-zero temperatures, frozen lakes and river, will end on 31 January 2020. |
| About ‘Chillai-Kalan’ These 40 days are when the chances of snowfall are highest and the maximum temperature drops considerably. During Chillai-Kalan, the weather in Kashmir valley continues to remain dry and cold with minimum temperatures hovering below freezing point and the snow during this 40-day period freezes and lasts longer. Even after Chillai-Kalan ends, the cold wave, however, continues even after that. Therefore Chillai-Kalan is followed by a 20-day-long period called ‘Chillai-Khurd’ (small cold) that occurs between January 31 and February 19 and a 10-day-long period ‘Chillai-Bachha’ (baby cold) which is from February 20 to March 2. |
 Eight West African countries have agreed to change the name of their common currency to Eco and severed their earlier currency CFA Franc’s links to former colonial ruler France. Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo currently use the currency. All the countries are former French colonies with the exception of Guinea-Bissau. The CFA franc, created in 1945, was seen by many as a sign of French interference in its former African colonies even after the countries became independent. |
| Source: The News on AIR |
 In Cuba, President has appointed Manuel Marrero Cruz as the country’s first prime minister in more than 40 years. Marrero, who has served as tourism minister for 16 years and is an architect by trade, helped boost Cuba’s economy by making tourism one of the engines of growth. The post of prime minister was scrapped in 1976 by the then-revolutionary leader Fidel Castro. |
| Source: The BBC |
 National Mathematics Day is celebrated on 22nd December every year to mark the birth anniversary of legendary mathematician, Srinivasa Ramanujan and his contributions in the development of modern mathematics. This year nation celebrates his 132nd Birth Anniversary. Ramanujan had a wealth of ideas that have transformed and reshaped 20th-century mathematics. These ideas continue to shape mathematics of the 21st century. The main objective behind the celebration of National Mathematics Day is to make people aware of the development of mathematics and its importance in the growth of humanity. |
| Source: The NDTV |
 The World Health Organization on December 19, 2019, released its report on Global Tobacco use trends. According to the report, number of males using tobacco has declined globally for the first time. The report says that the anti-smoking campaigns all over the world is the main reason for the number of tobacco users to reduce. |
| Highlights: World Globally the number of tobacco users have declined by 60 million people. In 2000, the overall tobacco users were 1.397 billion and it has come down to 1.337 billion in 2018. The report says despite the reduction in numbers, the global target set by governments to reduce the use of tobacco by 30% by 2025 remains off track. So far only 32 countries are on track to reach the target. Around 43 million children (of age 13-15) are using tobacco in 2018. The number of women using tobacco was 244 million. Of all the regions of the world, South East Asian region has the highest use of tobacco. The only region on track to achieve the target is the Americas. |
| Highlights: India According to the report, India is off track to achieve the target of 30% reduction by 2025 as compared to 2010 level. Along with India 163 countries are off the track. However, the consumption rate in India is going down by 21.6% as compared to 2010. The current users of smokeless form of tobacco in India is estimated to be 257,020,000. |
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