NATIONAL
India leads in global milk production
According to the Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh during the past 3 years, India has outpaced the global milk production with an annual growth rate of 5.53% compared with the 2.09% achieved globally. India has been the largest producer of milk in the world for the past 15 years. Milk production, which was around 17-22 million tonnes in the 1960s, has increased to 163.7 m tonnes in 2016-17.
Nirmala Sitharaman launches Start-up Incubation Centre in Mangalore
Nirmala Sitharaman launched a start-up incubation center called the Centre for Entrepreneurship Opportunities and Learning (CEOL) in Mangaluru, Karnataka. She has allocated Rs. 1.5 crore from her MPLAD (Member of Parliament’s Local Area Development) scheme for the development of CEOL. She represents Karnataka as an MP in the Rajya Sabha.
78th Session of Indian History Congress held in Kolkata
The three-day long 78th session of the Indian History Congress begun in Kolkata, West Bengal. The Indian History Congress had six sections this time – Ancient India, Medieval India, Modern India, Countries Other than India, Archaeology and Contemporary India. The aim of conducting Indian History Congress is for promotion and encouragement of the scientific study of Indian History.
Agriculture Minister launches LDF app
Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, Shri Radha Mohan Singh has launched Livestock Disease Forewarning – Mobile Application (LDF-Mobile App). The app is developed by ICAR-National Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Disease Informatics, Bengaluru. Apart from early warning, the app will also provide information about clinical samples for the diagnosis in case of the epidemic.
Triple Talaq Bill passed in Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriages) Bill 2017 making instant triple talaq illegal with up to three years in jail for the husband. The proposed law would only be applicable on instant triple talaq or ‘talaq-e-biddat’. Ravi Shankar Prasad is Minister for Law and Justice. The bill will now be sent to the Rajya Sabha for approval.
Gujarat CM inaugurates 25th National Children’s Science Congress
The 25th edition of National Children Science Congress (NCSC-2017) was inaugurated in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. It was inaugurated by Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in Ahmedabad. The theme of the five-day Congress this was ‘Science and Innovation for Sustainable Development’ with the special focus on persons with disabilities.
BND-4201: India’s first home-grown high purity gold reference standard launched
India’s first home-grown high purity gold reference standard – the Bharatiya Nirdeshak Dravya (BND-4201) – was launched at the India Government Mint, Mumbai. BND-4201, which is the reference material for gold of ‘9999’ fineness (gold that is 99.99 per cent pure), will be beneficial to the consumers and public at large to ensure purity of gold. Gold reference standard is indispensable in gold and jewellery hall marking. This will also be useful for Collection and Purity Testing Centres to certify the purity of gold deposits under the gold monetisation scheme.
Made-in-India Surface-to-Air Missile QRSAM successfully test fired
Made-In-India’ Surface-to-Air Missile QRSAM was successfully test fired by the Defence Research and Development Organisation from a defense base off Odisha coast. The homegrown canister-based high-speed weapon system can deceive enemy radars making it difficult to be detected, is capable of destroying aerial targets, tanks, bunkers and short-range missiles. It is a highly mobile air defence system which can destroy multiple targets at a distance of 25 km in less than one minute. Considered to be a unique system in its class, the missile is expected to supplement medium-range surface-to-air missile Akash.
National Family Health Survey shows decline in Child Marriages
As per National Family Health Survey, the percentage of women, who were married before legal age, has reduced from 47.4% in 2005-06 to 26.8% in 2014-15. Further, as per analysis of Census 2011 data by NCPCR, ‘nil’ marriages were reported in the age group of 0-9 years for both boys and girls. India has enacted the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 in order to prohibit child marriages.
ICGS Sujay commissioned into by Indian Coast Guard
An Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) named ICGS Sujay was recently commissioned into Indian Coast Guard (ICG). It is sixth and last in the series of six 105m OPV built indigenously by Goa Shipyard Limited for ICG. Presently, ICG has fleet of 134 ships and boats and 66 ships and boats are at various stages of construction at different shipyards in India.
India’s First National Rail and Transportation University to come at Vadodara
The Union Cabinet has approved proposal of Ministry of Railways to set up first ever National Rail and Transport University (NRTU) in Vadodara to skill its human resources and build capability. The University will be set up as Deemed to Be University under de novo category as per UGC (Institutions Deemed to be Universities) Regulations, 2016. The first academic program is expected to be launched in July 2018.
DARPAN Project launched for Financial Inclusion of Rural Population
The Minister of Communications Manoj Sinha launched DARPAN- “Digital Advancement of Rural Post Office for A New India” Project to improve the quality of service, add value to services and achieve ‘financial inclusion’ of the unbanked rural population. The goal of the IT modernization project with an outlay of Rs. 1400 Crore is to provide a low power technology solution to each Branch Postmaster (BPM) which will enable each of approximately 1.29 Lakhs Branch Post Offices (BOs) to improve the level of services being offered to rural customers across all the states.
Golden Jubilee celebrations of Indian Women Pilots Association held
The golden jubilee celebrations of Indian Women Pilots Association (IWPA) were held recently. During the celebrations the Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha stated that India has the maximum number of women pilots in the world. The IWPA was founded in Mumbai in the year 1967 by five ladies, namely Chanda Sawant Budhabhatti (first woman to obtain an FAA Commercial Pilot certificate), Mohini Shroff, Rabia Fatehally, Dr. Sunila Bhajekar and Capt. Durba Banerjee (in 1956 was the second woman commercial pilot of India). The IWPA then was the 5th national organisation of its kind in the world, next to the British Women Pilots Association, Australian Women Pilots Association, German Women Pilots Association and Finnish Women Pilots Association.
India’s first design university ‘World University of Design’ opens campus
India’s first and only design university, World University of Design opened it campus at Sonipat, Haryana. The campus is situated on NH1 in Rajiv Gandhi Education City (NCR), Sonipat, the largest planned integrated city for education in India. WUD is India’s first university dedicated to education in the creative domain; WUD underlines the movement of design from being purely vocation-oriented to becoming academic-oriented; and from certificate & diploma stage to degree, postgraduate degrees, research and doctoral programmes.
Training of Trainers Program for Sendai Framework held in New Delhi
The Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Kiren Rijiju, inaugurated the first national-level training of trainers program to sensitize various Central Ministries and Departments on utilization of Sendai Monitor for developing action plans for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in New Delhi. The three-day programme was organized by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction-Global Education and Training Institute (UNISDR-GETI).
HAMESHA VIJAYEE: Southern Command conducts major exercise in Rajasthan
The Southern Command of Indian Army conducted major army exercise called ‘Hamesha Vijayee’ in deserts of Rajasthan from December 16 to 22, 2017. The purpose of the exercise was to evaluate capability of armed forces to strike deep into enemy territory in an integrated air-land battle. The Southern Command (headquarters Pune) undertakes such exercises at regular intervals to ensure high degree of battle readiness as well as validation of operational plans using modern weapons and equipment.
BJP wins Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh Elections
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is back in power for the sixth straight term in Gujarat and also it has won the Himachal Pradesh Elections. With this, the party now controls 19 of the 29 states. Never before has any political party controlled as many states in India. Congress, 24 years ago, was the last time a political party was in control of 18 states.
India ranked 60th most Innovative Country, Switzerland Tops
India currently ranks 60th out of 127 countries on the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2017 as compared to 66th rank on GII 2016. The list was topped by Switzerland. NITI Aayog, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) together launched a mega initiative “India Innovation Index”. This Index will rank states on Innovations through country’s first online innovation index portal that will capture data on innovation from all Indian states on innovation and regularly update it in real time.
Samsung, UNESCO partner for videos on Indian Heritage Sites
Samsung India has entered into a partnership with UNESCO to launch virtual reality content and 360-degree videos on Indian heritage sites. Indian heritage sites include the Sun Temple in Konark, Odisha and Taj Mahal in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. The project will provide experiential educational content to students across the country. There are 36 UNESCO heritage sites in India at present.
India reaches 2nd position on horticultural crops, fruits production list
Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh research and development projects in horticulture crops have yielded encouraging results, as a result, the production of horticulture crops have been more than food grains irrespective of adverse climatic conditions. After China, India is the second largest producer of horticultural crops and fruits. In terms of area in India, the citrus fruits hold second position (10.37 lakh hectare) and third (12 million tonnes) in production.
PM Modi inaugurates 60-Megawatt Tuirial Hydro power Project in Aizawl
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 60-Megawatt Tuirial Hydropower Project in Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram. The completion of this project is a reflection of the Centre’s commitment to complete ongoing projects and usher in a new era of development in the North Eastern region. He will inaugurate the Shillong-Nongstoin-Rongjeng-Tura Road, which will improve connectivity and further economic growth.
National Workshop on Role of Sakhi One Stop Centres held in New Delhi
National Workshop on Role of Sakhi One Stop Centres (OSCs) in Strengthening Multi Sectoral Response to Violence was held in New Delhi. It was organized by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) and was inaugurated by WCD Minister Maneka Sanjay Gandhi.
Union Cabinet clears bill criminalising Instant Triple Talaq
The Union Cabinet cleared the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017, or the Triple Talaq bill, which makes the practice a non-bailable offence. The bill proposes a three-year jail term for men who practise instant Triple Talaq. Under the draft law, triple talaq in any form – spoken, in writing or by electronic means such as email, SMS and WhatsApp – would be banned or illegal. The draft law also provides for three years in prison and a fine for a Muslim man trying to divorce his wife by uttering “talaq” three times.
Indian Diaspora is Largest in the World: World Migration Report 2018
The Indian diaspora is the largest in the world, with over 15 million migrants from India living abroad, according to the World Migration Report 2018 published by the International Organisation for Migration, the United Nations migration agency. Because the country has the largest number of migrants abroad, India also receives the highest amount in remittances ($68.91 billion). The largest migration corridor is from India to UAE, where 3.5 million Indians were residing in 2015. The United States remained the top destination for migrants in the world in 2015, with 46.6 million migrants moving to the US in that year.
PM Modi inducts scorpene-class Submarine Kalvari into Indian Navy
Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned India’s first modern conventional submarine, INS Kalvari, into Navy’s fleet in Mumbai, a first in almost two decades. Kalvari is the first of the six Scorpene-class submarines handed over by shipbuilder Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL). The Navy last inducted a conventional diesel-electric submarine, INS Sindhushastra, procured from Russia in July 2000.
10 ASEAN leaders to be chief guests for Republic Day
At least 10 leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will be taking part in the 2018 Republic Day celebrations as chief guests. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had invited the ASEAN leaders to be the chief guests earlier this year.
India ranks 100 in global prosperity index
After rising up in the Ease of Doing Business Index, India has upgraded its ranks in ‘The Legatum Prosperity Index 2017’ as well. The index, which offers an insight into how prosperity is forming and changing across the world, ranks India 100th on the list of prosperous countries among 149 countries. Norway heads the ranking, followed by New Zealand, Finland, Switzerland and Sweden.
India’s first Electronic Manufacturing Cluster to be set up in Andhra Pradesh
India’s first Electronic Manufacturing Cluster (EMC) will be coming to Andhra Pradesh. EMC has been designed and developed for providing facilities and amenities for manufacturing mobiles and allied products. The Union Government, through Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeiTY) in 2012 had announced about setting up EMC in India, with grant-in-aid for establishing such clusters.
Govt launches mobile app to ease child deliveries in peripheral areas
With the motto to improve labour room quality, the government has launched LaQshya, a safe delivery mobile application for health workers who manage normal and complicated deliveries in peripheral areas. The initiative will be implemented in Government Medical Colleges besides district hospitals, and high delivery load sub-district hospitals and Community Health Centres.
Rahul Gandhi elected Indian National Congress President
The Indian National Congress announced that Rahul Gandhi has been elected as its new President, taking over from his mother Sonia Gandhi. Rahul was declared the party President after no other candidate filed a nomination to contest the presidential elections. The Congress had earlier announced that 89 nominations were filed proposing Rahul Gandhi’s candidacy for the presidential elections.
UN Women, Facebook inaugurates ‘We The Women’ event in Mumbai
UN Women in collaboration with Facebook inaugurated a two day event in Mumbai titled ‘We The Women’ to empower and recognise the magnificent contribution of women in our society. The event witnessed speakers from different walks of life including Textile and I&B Minister, Smriti Irani, Sakshi Malik, Mithali Raj, Ekta Kapoor, Karan Johar and others.
Maruti Suzuki replaces SBI as 6th most valuable Indian firm
India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki became India’s sixth most valued firm, crossing India’s largest lender SBI. Maruti Suzuki’s market capitalisation stood at Rs2.74 trillion, marginally ahead of SBI’s market value of Rs2.71 trillion. Reliance Industries is the country’s most valued company with a market value of Rs5.8 trillion, followed by TCS, HDFC Bank, ITC and Hindustan Unilever.
SBI changes name, IFSC codes of branches
Post merger of its 5 associates, SBI has changed names & IFSC codes of nearly 1,300 of its branches. The Bank has changed names & IFSC codes of branches located Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai & Kolkata and others. Indian Financial System Code (IFSC) is an 11-digit alpha-numeric code used to uniquely identify all bank branches participating in any RBI regulated funds transfer system.
India declared free from Trachoma, a bacterial infection of eye
India has been declared free from infective Trachoma which is a contagious bacterial infection of the eye. It causes inflamed granulation on the inner surface of the lids. Releasing the National Trachoma Survey Report (2014-17) in New Delhi, Health Minister J P Nadda made an announcement in this regard and termed it as a momentous achievement.
Prez inaugurates Naval Maritime Aircraft Museum in RK Beach
President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the Naval Maritime Aircraft Museum in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh featuring the maritime patrol aircraft Tupolev-142M, which served the Navy for almost three decades. The museum, at the famous RK Beach Road, will feature the reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft, which was decommissioned in March this year.
Mahesh Sharma inaugurates ‘Bodhi Parva’
Minister of State for Culture (Independent Charge) Dr. Mahesh Sharma has inaugurated the three days ‘Bodhi Parva: BIMSTEC Festival of Buddhist Heritage’ in New Delhi. India is hosting the “Bodhi Parva: BIMSTEC Festival of Buddhist Heritage” from 8 to 10 December as part of celebrations of 20th anniversary of BIMSTEC.
Akshay Kumar to promote government’s flagship agri-schemes
Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar will promote the government’s flagship agriculture schemes like soil health card and crop insurance. The Union Agriculture Ministry has roped in the actor for television advertisements to intensify the publicity of the agri-schemes. Besides soil health card scheme, the actor will promote Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana, Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana and others.
Vice President inaugurated 12th Annual Convention
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the 12th Annual convention of central information commission at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi. The Vice President stressed on maintaining transparency and accountability in public life. As per the Minister of State in PMO Dr. Jitender Singh, the government has filled all vacant posts in the commission. He accused the earlier government of being negligent on the matter.
BSF launches test to check personnel’s Psychological health
The Border Security Force (BSF) engaged doctors to conduct a psychological analysis of its 2.5 lakh members amid concerns over rising cases of suicide by security personnel. The Wellness Quotient Assessment Test will question personnel to detect issues such as anxiety, depression, phobia, and insomnia among others. The Troubled personnel will be offered help under the buddy support system.
PM Modi inaugurated B R Ambedkar International Centre
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the BR Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi. The prime minister also unveiled two statues of the Dalit icon at the center in Janpath. Union Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Vijay Goel was also present at the event. The center was a fusion of Buddhist and modern architecture. He had laid the foundation stone of the center in 2015.
Center enhances Monetary Allowances for Gallantry Award Winners
The Government has enhanced the monetary allowances for the Gallantry Award winners. The enhancement is for the recipients of post-independence Gallantry Award, pre-independence Gallantry Award and the monetary allowance attached to ‘Jangi Inam’, a pre-independence Gallantry Award. The allowances have been doubled in most of the cases and in a few cases have been increased by more than 100%.
Nation remembers India’s First President on his Birthday
Nation on 03rd December 2017 remembered India’s first President Rajendra Prasad on his 133rd birthday. Born on December 3, 1884, in Siwan, Bihar, Prasad was a Gandhian and participated in India’s freedom movement. Dr Prasad was one of the prominent leaders of the Indian Nationalist Movement alongside Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel and Lal Bahadur Shastri.
Read more: Current Affairs December 2017 Study Material | FreeJobAlert.com http://currentaffairs.freejobalert.com/december-2017-current-affairs-study-material/31686/#ixzz5UrHL3xyI
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