Current Affairs in Short: 11 December 2020

PM Narendra Modi to address FICCI's 93rd AGM on Dec 12

•Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be delivering the inaugural address at FICCI's 93rd Annual General Meeting and annual convention at 11 am on December 12, 2020. This year's theme of the Annual Convention is "Inspired India". 
•The event will witness participation from several ministers, bureaucrats, diplomats, international experts and other leading luminaries. It will witness discussions between various stakeholders on the implications of COVID-19 on the economy and the way forward. 
•Prime Minister will also be inaugurating the virtual FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) Annual Expo 2020 on the same day. The annual expo will continue for a period of one year. It will provide an opportunity to exhibitors from across the globe to showcase their products.

ISRO to launch communication satellite CMS-01 on Dec 1

•The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch communication satellite CMS-01 aboard Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C50) on December 17, 2020. 
•This will be the 52nd mission of PSLV and it will be launched from the second launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The launch is tentatively scheduled to take place at 3:41 pm on December 17, 2020 subject to weather conditions.
•The communication satellite aims to provide services in the Extended-C Band of the frequency spectrum, which includes the Indian mainland, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep. The satellite will be the 42nd Communication Satellite of India.

CO2 emissions drop globally by 7 percent in 2020: Report

•The global carbon dioxide emissions reportedly dropped by 7 percent in the year 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as per a study published in the journal Earth System Science Data on December 10, 2020. 
•The study revealed that the Global Carbon Project, which is a group of international scientists who track emissions, had calculated that the world will have put 37 billion US tons of carbon dioxide in the air in 2020, which is down from 40.1 billion US tons of CO2 emitted in 2019. 
•According to scientists, the drop is majorly because people are staying at home and travelling less by car and plane. The emissions are expected to jump back up after the end of the pandemic. Ground transportation reportedly makes up about one-fifth of emissions of carbon dioxide.

Indian-American among 18 astronauts selected for NASA's Artemis Moon programme 

•Indian-American, Raja Jon Vurputoor Chari is among the 18 astronauts who have been selected by NASA for its Artemis moon-landing programme. NASA announced the names of the 18 astronauts, half of whom are women, on December 9, 2020. 
•The 43-year-old is the only Indian-American in the list. He is a graduate of the US Air Force Academy, MIT, and US Naval Test Pilot School. He was selected by NASA to join the 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class
•The astronauts on the Artemis Team have been chosen from a diverse range of backgrounds, expertise and experience. While the oldest is 55 years old, the youngest is 32 years old. 
•The chosen astronauts will now help NASA to prepare for its upcoming Artemis missions, which aim to land the first woman and next man on the Moon in 2024 and establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon by the end of the decade.

New genus of malaria detected in Kerala

•Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja informed on December 10, 2020 that a new genus of malaria called 'plasmodium oval' has been detected in the state.
•The disease was detected in a soldier who was being treated at a district hospital in Kannur. He had travelled from Sudan. 
•The State Health Minister said that the spread of the disease can be avoided with timely treatment and preventive measures. 
•The first confirmed case of novel coronavirus was reported in Thrissur, Kerala when a student, who had returned from Wuhan University in China was tested positive for the virus.