current digest - race2ias · hornbill festival: nagas celebrate this festival to revive, protect,...

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CURRENT

AFFAIRS

DIGEST

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INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

World Bank says India‟s GDP

may grow at 7.3% in 2018-19

India‟s GDP is expected to grow at 7.3%

in the fiscal year 2018-19, and 7.5% in

the following two years, the World Bank

has predicted, attributing it to an

upswing in consumption and investment.

It said India will continue to be the

fastest growing major economy in the

world.

It said in India the recent introduction of

the GST and steps toward

demonetisation are expected to

encourage a shift from the informal to

the formal sector.

ADB forecasts Indian

economy to grow at 7.3% in

FY19

The Asian Development Bank (ADB)

forecast that the Indian economy would

grow at 7.3 per cent in FY19.

On the back of strong investment and

GST stabilisation, the growth would

improve to 7.6 per cent in FY20. Besides,

India‟s funding would be scaled up to

$4.5 billion in 2019.

ADB forecast current account deficit

(CAD) to be around 2.5 per cent of GDP

in the current fiscal, which will be

financed by stable capital flows.

UN says, Global economy to

remain at a steady pace of 3%

during 2019-2020

According to UN, The global economy

will continue to grow at a steady pace of

around 3 per cent in 2019 and 2020 amid

signs that global growth has peaked.

Global growth is expected to remain

steady at 3 per cent in 2019 and 2020,

after an expansion of 3.1 per cent in

2018, said the report.

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Headquarters of UN (United Nations) is

in New York City.

U.S., Israel officially quit

UNESCO

The U.S. and Israel officially quit the

UN‟s educational, scientific and cultural

agency (UNESCO) at the stroke of

midnight, the culmination of a process

triggered more than a year ago amid

concerns that the organization fosters

anti-Israel bias.

Morocco ranks high in climate

action

Morocco has been named the second

best performing country after Sweden in

the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI).

Sweden is in top position, followed by

Morocco and Lithuania in the CCPI 2019.

The bottom five in the list are Saudi

Arabia, U.S., Iran, South Korea and

Taiwan.

Japan Tops List of Most

Powerful Passports according to

Henley Index

According to the Henley Passport Index,

which periodically measures the access

each country's travel document affords,

India jumped two positions from 81st in

2018 to 79th this year.

Japan retained its top spot as the world's

most travel-friendly passport

.Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nepal ranked

further low at 104, 102 and 94

respectively.

Cyclonic storm “PABUK” over

South China Sea

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Cyclone activities were witnessed over

South China Sea. A cyclonic storm

“PABUK” lay centered at 08:30 hours IST

of 03rd January 2019 over south China

Sea near latitude 6.0°N and longitude

105.0° E, about 1500 km east-southeast of

Port Blair.

World Bank President

announces resignation

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim

announced that he would step down next

month, more than three years before his

current term was due to expire.

World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva

will serve as interim President.

Vikram Misri takes charge as

India‟s new envoy to China

Vikram Misri took charge of India‟s

envoy to China. Before his appointment

Mr. Misri served as Indian envoy in

Myanmar.

Gita Gopinath joins IMF as its

first female chief economist

Mysore-born Gita Gopinath has joined

International Monetary Fund as its chief

economist, becoming the first woman to

occupy the top IMF post.

Justice Asif Khosa takes oath as

new Chief Justice of Pakistan

Justice Asif Saeed Khosa took oath as the

26th Chief Justice of Pakistan in a simple

ceremony held at the President‟s House

in Islamabad, which was also attended

by foreign dignitaries, including from

India.

President Arif Alvi administered oath to

the new Chief Justice who took office

after the retirement of Chief Justice

Saqib Nisar.

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UNESCO names Rio de Janeiro

as 'World Capital of

Architecture' for 2020

The UN Educational, Scientific, and

Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has

named the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro

as the World Capital of Architecture for

2020.

Rio will be the first city to receive the

title under a programme launched

together by Unesco and the International

Union of Architects (UIA),

Tourism Minister co-chairs the

7th ASEAN-India Tourism

Ministers meeting at Ha Long

City, Viet Nam

The Union Minister for Tourism, Shri. K.

J. Alphons attended the Seventh Meeting

of Tourism Ministers of ASEAN and India

held in Ha Long City, Viet Nam.Ministers

launch „2019‟ as the ASEAN India- Year

of Tourism.

The Ministers‟ meeting noted the

strengthened tourism performance of

ASEAN and India in 2018 with

preliminary numbers of 139.5 million

tourist arrivals to ASEAN and India in the

year with an increase of 7.4 per cent as

compared to the previous year.

India-Myanmar begin Army

exercise for UN peacekeeping

The second India-Myanmar bilateral

Army exercise 'IMBEX 2018-19'

commenced at Chandimandir military

station in Chandigarh

The aim of this joint training event is to

train the Myanmar delegation for

participation in UN peacekeeping

operations.

The exercise includes participation of 15

officers from Myanmar Army

and 15 officers from Indian Army who

shall jointly train for over a period of six

days.

Japan satellite blasts into

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space to deliver artificial

meteors shower over

Hiroshima

A rocket carrying a satellite on a mission

to deliver the world's first artificial

meteor shower blasted into space.

The satellite is to release tiny balls that

glow brightly as they hurtle through the

atmosphere, simulating a meteor

shower.t hitched a ride on the small-size

Epsilon-4 rocket that was launched from

the Uchinoura space centre by the Japan

Aerospace Exploration Agency

(JAXA).

China becomes first country to

grow plants on the Moon

China has become one of the first nations

in the world which has successfully

germinated seeds on a place other than

Earth.

China‟s Chang‟e-4 probe successfully

germinated seeds on the dark side of the

Moon in a miniature, artificial biosphere,

providing hope for the future of

sustainable, long-distance manned

space travel.

India ranks at 54th position

among most innovative

countries

India figures at 54th position among the

world's most innovative countries,

according to Bloomberg 2019 Innovative

Index

It is for the first time that India has made

it to the rankings.

The annual Bloomberg Innovation Index

analyses dozens of criteria using seven

metrics, including research and

development spending, manufacturing

capability and concentration of high-tech

public companies

South Korea has retained the top spot

with a score of 87.38

Oxford Dictionaries declares

'Nari Shakti' as Hindi word for

the year 2018

Oxford dictionaries declared "Nari

Shakti" as the Hindi word for the year

2018.The announcement was made

during a session at the ongoing Jaipur

Literature Festival (JLF) at the Diggi

Palace.

According to the Oxford dictionaries,

the word has been derived from

Sanskrit and is used today to symbolise

women "taking charge of their lives

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NATIONAL AFFAIR

1. Nagaland celebrates 55th

formation Day

Today, Nagaland state is celebrating

its 55th formation day.

On 1st December 1963, Nagaland

became the 16th state of India.

Today, Home Minister Rajnath

Singh has inaugurated 19th 'Hornbill

Festival' in Nagaland. The key economic activity of the state

is Agriculture and the main crops

include – rice, corn, millets, pulses, oilseeds,

etc. The state shares its borders with

the state of Assam to the

west, Arunachal Pradesh to the

North, Manipur to the South

and Burma to the east.

2. Border Security Force

celebrating its 54th Raising Day

The Border Security Force is

celebrating its 54th formation day on

1st December 2018.

India's Border Security Force (First

Line of Defence of Indian Territories) was formed on 1st December 1965, after

the Indo-Pak and India-China wars.

With 186 battalions and over 2.57 lakhs

military personnel, the BSF is the largest

border security unit in the world. Senior IPS officers Rajni Kant Misra

(1984-batch IPS officer-Uttar Pradesh

cadre) is the present Director General of BSF.

BSF Jawans have lived up to their motto

of Duty Unto Death ( ).

BSF headquartered in New Delhi

3. Navy Day : 04 December

The day is celebrated in honor of the

maritime force's role during the war with

Pakistan in 1971 when Indian warships

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attacked Karachi port and successfully hurt

Pakistani operations in the western coast.

The Day is also celebrated to highlight the

role the Navy plays in securing the

country's marine borders during peacetime

and carrying out humanitarian missions.

Operation Trident, the codename for the

naval attack on Karachi, is considered one

of the most successful operations in the

post-World War II era.

4. Hornbill Festival The Union Home Minister inaugurated the

hugely popular Hornbill Festival

2018 in Kohima, coinciding with

the Formation Day of Nagaland

Hornbill Festival offers unique opportunity

for states to interact and exhibit their cultural heritage in the true spirit of “Ek

Bharat, Shrestha Bharat”.

Significance of Nagaland

Geographically:

Nagaland is geographically located at the vantage point.

It is the gateway to the South-East Asia.

North-East is the pivot of our Government‟s „Act East‟ Policy.

Hornbill Festival:

Nagas celebrate this festival to revive,

protect, sustain and promote the richness of

the Naga heritage and traditions. It occurs during 1 – 10 December on an

annual basis.

It is also called the “Festival of Festivals”.

The festival pays tribute to Hornbill, the most

admired and revered bird for the Nagas for

its qualities of alertness and grandeur.

It is organized by State Tourism and Art &

Culture Departments and also supported by

Union Government.

Hornbill Festival was established on 1st

December 1963 and was inaugurated by the

then President Dr. S Radhakrishnan.

5. India's heaviest satellite GSAT-

11 successfully launched by

Ariane-5 rocket to provide

better broadband services

The ISRO launched GSAT-11 satellite and put

it successfully in earth orbit from Kourou

Launch Zone, French Guiana in South

America. ISRO used the Ariane-5 VA246

heavyweight rocket of Arianespace for this

mission.

It will operate from 74 degree east. The

GSAT-11 weighing 5,854 kg is the heaviest

satellite built by ISRO.

The GSAT-11 is the next generation high

throughput communication satellite that will

play a vital role in providing broadband

services across the country.

It will also provide a platform to demonstrate

new generation applications such as in

flights internet connectivity. The satellite is

expected to have a lifespan of 15 years.

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6. Shri A. N. Jha appointed as

Finance Secretary

The appointments Committee of the

Cabinet has approved designating Shri A.

N. Jha, IAS, Secretary, Department of

Expenditure, and Ministry of Finance as

Finance Secretary.

The senior most secretary in the Finance

Ministry is normally designated as the

Finance Secretary.

Mr. Jha had been succeeded Mr. Ashok

Lavasa as the Expenditure Secretary in

November, 2017.

Before that, he had served as Secretary,

Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate

Change.

7. Book Release - „Blue Waters

Ahoy!‟ Chronicling the Indian

Navy‟s History from 2001-10

Admiral Sunil Lanba, released a book titled

„Blue Waters Ahoy!‟ – chronicling the Indian

Navy‟s History from 2001-10. The unveiling

was a part of an At Home function held at

the Navy House in the presence of His

Excellency, Sh. Ramnath Kovind, the

President of India and the Supreme

Commander of the Armed Forces.

The Indian Navy celebrates Navy Day every

year on 04 December 2018 to

commemorate its offensive actions during

the 1971 war.

The book has been authored by Vice

Admiral Anup Singh, who retired as the

Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of

Eastern Naval Command in 2011.

8. Nagaland becomes first

north-eastern state to launch

single emergency number

„112‟

The Union Home Minister Rajnath

Singh has launched the

single emergency number „112‟ under

the Emergency Response Support

System (ERSS) for the state of Nagaland.

It will have a special women safety

feature „SHOUT‟ to get immediate

assistance from police and volunteers.

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The launch coincided with the state‟s

formation day and the inaugural day of

the 2018 edition of the Hornbill Festival

9. Nation pays homage to Dr B R

Ambedkar on his 63rd

Maharparinirvan Diwas

Nation pays homage to Bharat Ratna Dr BR

Ambedkar on his 63rd Maharparinirvan

Diwas.

The Father of the Indian Constitution Dr

Ambedkar was a jurist, economist,

politician and a social reformer who

campaigned against social discrimination of

Dalit‟s, women and laborers.

He died on this day in 1956 and the day is

observed as Maharparinirvan Diwas every

year. A number of functions are being

organised all over the country to mark the

occasion

10. State Bank of India Ropes in

Swapna Barman as Brand

Ambassador For YONO

o State Bank of India has roped in Asian

Games gold medalist Swapna Barman as

brand ambassador for its digital app

YONO. YONO, the bank's digital platform

that makes both lifestyle and banking

available through a single app, was

launched exactly a year back. o Swapna won Gold medal in Heptathlon in

Jakarta Asian Games with a score of 6026

and is looking to break the 6200 score barrier to qualify for the Tokyo 2020

Olympics.

11. Gangotri, Yamunotri

Included Under PRASAD

Scheme

The Centre included Gangotri and

Yamunotri in Uttarakhand, Amarkantak i

n Madhya Pradesh and Parasnath in

Jharkhand under a central scheme to

develop pilgrimage and heritage destinations in the country, a tourism

ministry statement stated

With the new additions, the number of sites under the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and

Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive

(PRASAD) launched by the ministry

in 2014-15 has now become 41 in 25

states.

12. Kerala becomes first state to

have 4 international airports

Kerala has become first state in the country

to have four international airports with the

inauguration of Kannur airport.

The first commercial flight from this airport

Air India Express flight IX 715 with 180

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passengers on board to Abu Dhabi was

flagged off recently.

The other three international airports are

Trivandrum International Airport, Cochin

International Airport and Calicut

International Airport.

Kannur international airport is built on a

public-private partnership (PPP) model. It is

spread across 2,000 acres of area It will

help non-resident Keralites (NRKs).

13. Indian Coast Guard (ICG)

conducted Clean Sea- 2018

exercise

It is a Regional Level Marine Oil Pollution

Response Exercise conducted by Indian

Coast Guard (ICG) recently at sea off Port

Blair, Andaman & Nicobar (A&B) Islands.

The objective of exercise was to ascertain

preparedness of IGC, resource agencies

and other stakeholders in responding to

major oil spill in line with provisions of

National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan

(NOS-DCP).

Indian Coast Guard (ICG) under Ministry of

Defense is responsible for marine

environment protection in maritime zones

of India and is coordinating authority for

response to oil spills in Indian waters.

14. Khelo India Youth Games to

be held in Pune from January 9

After the resounding success of the first

edition of the Khelo India School Games last

year, the grassroot level hunt for

sportspersons from across the country, is

back in a bigger, better form.

In its second edition, the games which is an

initiative of the Central Government, has

expanded in its scope, and will allow

participants to compete in two categories,

(Under 17) and (Under 21), this year. In its

new form, the games, which will be known

as the Khelo India Youth Games, also allows

students from colleges and Universities to

compete.

The other highlight of this year's games is

that the national-level competition is

moving out of the Capital and will be held in

Maharashtra, which bid for the games,

along with Assam and Jharkhand. This time,

the games will be held in Pune, known as

the city of students, from January 9 - January

20, 2019.

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15. Ex-IAS Shaktikanta Das

Appointed as RBI‟s New

Governor

Sixty three year-old Shaktikanta Das, India‟s

former Economic Affairs Secretary, has

been appointed as the 25th governor of the

Reserve Bank of India.

A 1980 batch IAS officer from the Tamil

Nadu cadre, Shaktikanta retired as the

Economic Affairs Secretary in 2017. He has

been appointed for a period of three years.

During his state tenure, he has been –

Industries Principal Secretary, Special

Commissioner for Revenue and as the

district collector of Dindigul and

Kancheepuram districts.

Known to be an experienced bureaucrat,

Shaktikanta has held key positions under

both the Bhartiya Janta Party and Indian

National Congress-led governments.

Among others, he has served as Revenue

Secretary and Fertilizers Secretary of India

Shaktikanta has also been a member of the

Fifteenth Finance Commission and played a

key role in building consensus between the

Centre and the States with reference to

revenue sharing and other key items.

He also played in key role in developing

the Goods and Services Tax regime

As India‟s guide, or Sherpa, in the G20,

Shaktikanta was deeply involved in

building strategic relations with global

powers while balancing India‟s equations

with various countries. His work there

principally involved setting the groundwork

required for summits and meetings

between India and other nations.

16. To connect with Direct

Benefit Transfer (DBT), an

online portal “ENSURE” has

been launched

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers‟

Welfare Shri Radha Mohan Singh launched

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a portal ENSURE- National Livestock

Mission-EDEG developed by NABARD and

operated under the Department of Animal

Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries.

Under the Mission‟s component called

Entrepreneurship Development and

Employment Generation (EDEG), subsidy

payment for activities related to poultry,

small ruminants, pigs etc. through Direct

Benefit Transfer (DBT) goes directly to the

beneficiary‟s account.

In order to make it better, simpler and

transparent, the NABARD has developed an

online portal “ENSURE” so that the

information related to beneficiary and

processing of application can be made

readily available.

17. PM Modi to inaugurate

Partners‟ Forum 2018

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi,

will inaugurate the fourth Partners‟ Forum

on 12th December at New Delhi.

The Government of India, in association

with the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn

and Child Health (PMNCH), is hosting a

two-day international conference on 12th

and 13th December 2018, bringing together

about 1500 participants from across 85

countries to improve the health and well-

being of women, children and adolescents.

This is the fourth in a series of global high-

level multi-country, multi-stakeholder

events aimed at sustaining global

momentum for issues related to health of

women, children and adolescents.

18. Home Ministry launches

Twitter account to spread

awareness about cybercrimes

With an objective of spreading awareness

about cybercrimes and precautions to be

taken, the Ministry of Home Affairs has

launched @CyberDost. The Twitter handles

- @CyberDost - is aimed at enhancing

people's basic knowledge about

cybercrimes and precautions to be taken

for prevention.

The Twitter handle is educating people

about various channels through which

complaints about cybercrimes can be filed

and makes people aware of their duties

regarding misuse of cyber space by some

people in the country.

The handle is also to mitigate possibilities of

disruption in normal business activities or

losses due to cybercrimes.

19. Mary Kom honored with

Meethoileima title

Manipur government honored MC Mary

Kom by conferring „Meethoileima‟

(Outstanding Queen) title at a felicitation

function held in Imphal‟s Khuman Lampak

Sports Complex.

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The state government conferred the title

„Meethoileima‟ in recognition of her

unprecedented feat of winning the sixth

gold medal in the recently concluded

World Boxing Championship and her

illustrious career in the field.

State chief minister N Biren Singh also

handed a cheque of Rs 10, 00,000 to Mary

Kom.

The chief minister also named a road in

Imphal as „MC Mary Kom Road.‟

MC Mary Kom is the first woman boxer to

win the World Boxing Champion title six

times.

20. PM hands over tricolour to

Arunima Sinha on her

expedition to Mount Vinson,

Antarctica

Prime Minister Narendra Modi handed over

the tricolor flag to Arunima Sinha, marking

the beginning of her expedition to Mount

Vinson, Antarctica.

Arunima Sinha is the first female Divyang to

climb Mount Everest. She called on the

Prime Minister at New Delhi, and apprised

him of her upcoming mountaineering

expedition to Antarctica.

Arunima Sinha had earlier conquered the

highest peaks in five continents, becoming

the first female Divyang to achieve the feat.

21. Zoramthanga to be sworn in

as Mizoram CM

In Mizoram, the new government of Mizo

National Front (MNF), headed by Mr

Zoramthanga will be sworn in. It was

decided at a meeting between Governor

Kummanam Rajasekharan and a delegation

of the MNF party led by Zoramthanga at Raj

Bhavan in Aizawl.

MNF Chief, 74-yr old Zoramthanga will be

sworn-in as the next Chief Minister of

Mizoram for the third term.

He was the state chief minister for two terms

earlier from 1998 to 2008.

In the 40-seated Assembly, MNF has

secured a landslide victory bagging 26

seats.

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22. National Energy

Conservation Day in India

The National energy conservation day is

celebrated every year by the people all

over India on 14th of December.

The objective of the day to aware people

about the importance of energy as well

as

saving or conserving more energy by

using less energy.

The Energy Conservation Act in

India was executed by the Bureau of

Energy Efficiency (BEE) in the year 2001.

The Bureau of Energy Efficiency is a

constitutional body which comes under

Government of India and helps in the

development of policies and strategies

in order to reduce the energy use.

23. Brijendra Pal Singh

nominated as new president of

FTII

The Information and Broadcasting

Ministry nominated Brijendra Pal

Singh as the new president of Film and

Television Institute of India (FTII)

Society and Chairman of Governing

Council. Currently, Mr Singh is the Vice

Chairman of the FTII Governing

Council.

The position was vacant after actor Anupam Kher stepped down in

October this year.

24. Deep Submergence Rescue

Vehicle' inducted into Navy

The Indian Navy inducted the 'Deep

Submergence Rescue Vehicle' into

service at the Western Naval

Command in Mumbai.

Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sunil

Lanba inducted the vehicle into the

Navy.

The DSRV has the capability to rescue

personnel from a distressed

submarine up to a depth of 650

meters and it is the latest in terms of

technology and capabilities

25. K Chandrasekhar Rao

sworn in as Chief Minister of

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Telangana

Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) Chief K

Chandrasekhar Rao (65-years) took oath

as the Chief Minister of the youngest

state in the country, Telangana (second

time).

Governor ESL Narasimhan administered

the oath ceremony at the Raj Bhavan, in

Hyderabad.

According to KCR, a full-fledged

cabinet will be formed in a few days to

come.

TRS won 88 seats of the 119 seats state

Assembly.

KCR went ahead for early-poll before the

term of the Assembly came to an end

when he resigned nine months (on 6th

September 2018) before the completion

of his term

26. Nation pays tributes to

martyrs of 2001 Parliament

terror attacks

The nation pays homage to the martyrs

who sacrificed their lives while

defending Parliament House from the

dastardly terror attack on this day in

2001.

Leaders of different political parties and

MPs paid floral tributes to the martyrs at

the plaque in Parliament House.

On this day, two persons from the

Parliament Security Service of the Rajya

Sabha, five Delhi Police Personnel and a

woman constable of the Central Reserve

Police Force, laid down their lives while

preventing entry of terrorists inside the

Parliament House Building.

A gardener of CPWD also lost his life in

the attack.

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