CURRENT AFFAIRS DEC/19/2015

CURRENT AFFAIRS DEC/19/2015

1.2ND WORLD INTERNET CONFERENCE HELD IN WUZEN

i. 2nd World Internet Conference was held at Wuzen in China.

ii. The Theme of the conference was ‘An Interconnected World Shared and Governed by All—Building a Cyberspace Community of Shared Destiny’

iii. The main objective of the conference is promoting strategic-level discussions on global Internet governance, cyber security, economic growth and social development, technological innovation and philosophy of the Internet.

2. RADHA KRISHNA MATHUR APPOINTED AS CHIEF INFORMATION COMMISSIONER OF INDIA

i. Former Defence Secretary Radha Krishna Mathur appointed as Chief Information Commissioner of India.

ii. He will replace Vijai Sharma, who completed his tenure on 1 December .

iii. The Chief Information Commissioner is appointed by the President of India on the recommendation of a selection committee headed by Prime Minister.

3. INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS DAY OBSERVED ON 18 DEC

i. International Migrants Day was observed across the world on 18 December.

ii. The year 2015 will be remembered as a year of human suffering and migrant tragedies.

iii. Since 2014 more than 5000 women, men and children lost their lives in search of protection and a better life while migrating.

iv.Ten thousand of persons have been exploited and abused by human traffickers. 

4. UTTAR PRADESH GOVERNMENT BANS USE OF POLYTHENE BAGS

i. Uttar Pradesh government has decided to enforce the ban on the use of polythene in the state to protect the environment and public health.

ii. The ban prohibits manufacturing, importing, purchasing and storage of all kinds of plastic carry bags in state.

iii. In Uttar Pradesh no shopkeeper, wholesaler or retailer in the state would be able to use, store or purchase plastic carry bags for eatable or non-eatable items.

5. SANJAY PRADHAN TO LEAD OPEN GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIP

i. The Open Government Partnership selected Indian-origin World Bank official Sanjay Pradhan to lead the organization.

ii. Sanjay Pradhan will help to ensure that OGP continues to succeed in its mission to promote government transparency, accountability and responsiveness to citizens.

iii. Open Government Partnership is an international organization promoting multilateral initiative.

iv. It was established in 2011 by 8 founding governments of Brazil,Philippines, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway, and the United States.

v. It promotes transparency, increase civic participation, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to make government more open, effective, and accountable in government institutions.

CURRENT AFFAIRS DEC/18/2015

CURRENT AFFAIRS DEC/18/2015

1. UN SECURITY COUNCIL ADOPTED RESOLUTION TO CUT-OFF SUPPLY OF FUNDS TO ISIS GROUP

i. The UN Security Council has adopted resolution to increase sanctions against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq group and other terrorist groups.

ii. The resolution was adopted at the 1^st meeting of Finance Ministers of the UNSC.

iii. The meeting was headed by Jack Lew of the United States.

iv. The resolution is adopted to ensure that government have adopted laws that make the financing of ISIS a serious criminal offence.

2. UNION GOVERNMENT GIVES IN PRINCIPLE APPROVAL TO GOOGLE’S LOON PROJECT

i. Union Government has given in principle approval to work on Loon project of internet search engine giant Google for providing Internet connectivity by using large balloons.

ii. The project will be started with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited to expand Internet connectivity in the country.

iii. Google’s Loon project is Google’s research and development project which aims at providing low-cost Internet availabilty to rural and remote areas.

3. SC TAKES ‘EXTRAORDINARY’ STEP OF APPOINTING UTTAR PRADESH LOKAYUKTA

i. Supreme court by Using its extraordinary powers granted under Article 142 of the Constitution has appointed Uttar Pradesh lokayukta.

ii. The Supreme Court for the first time in its history appointed a Lokayukta after the failure of the constitutional authorities of the State to act with its orders.

iii. The Court has appointed former high court judge Justice Virendra Singh as Uttar Pradesh’s Lokayukta after expressing its annoyance at the U.P. government’s failure to meet its deadline.

4. CLAUDE AND NORMA ALVARES HONOURED WITH 2015 SANCTUARY LIFETIME SERVICE AWARD

i. The Claude and Norma Alvares were honoured with the 2015 Lifetime Service Award by Sanctuary Asia magazine.

ii. Ashok Kumar was named  as the Sanctuary Legend for fighting  against wildlife crimes in India.

iii. Sanctuary Asia is India's first and one of its leading environmental news magazines.

5. RBI RELEASED FINAL GUIDELINES OF MARGINAL COST OF FUNDS METHODOLOGY TO CALCULATE INTEREST RATES

i. The Reserve Bank of India released the final guidelines on computing interest rates on advances based on the Marginal Cost of Funds Methodology.

ii. The guidelines will come into effect from 1 April 2016.

iii. The new methodology is aimed to bring uniformity among Bank Rates of banks so that they will be more sensitive to any changes in policy rates of the RBI like Cash Reserve Ratio, Statutory Liquidity Ratio etc.

iv. This new methodology will help in improving the transmission of policy rates into the lending rates of banks.

6. WTO APPROVED AFGHANISTAN’S MEMBERSHIP TO JOIN AS 163RD MEMBER

i. World Trade Organisation approved Afghanistan’s WTO membership at the WTO’s Tenth Ministerial Conference in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.

ii. Afghanistan will become the 163^rd member of WTO.

Director General of WTO: Roberto Azevedo.

Head quarter of WTO: Geneva, Switzerland.

CURRENT AFFAIRS DEC/17/2015

CURRENT AFFAIRS DEC/17/2015

1. THE BOSE BROTHERS AND INDIAN INDEPENDENCE – AN INSIDER’S ACCOUNT BOOK AUTHORED BY MADHURI BOSE RELEASED

i. The book named Bose Brothers and Indian Independence – An Insider’s Account book is released by Madhuri Bose.

ii.She is the grand-niece of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose

iii. It explains the role of the Bose Brothers in the Indian freedom struggle

2. RBI LIABLE TO DISCLOSE INFORMATION ABOUT BANKS UNDER RTI ACT

i. The Supreme Court stated that the Reserve Bank of India is liable to disclose information about the banks and financial institutions for their action against the loan under the Right to Information Act, 2005.

ii. The Bench given this ruling against the petition filed by PP Kapoor, who had asked about the details of the loans taken by the industrialists that have not repaid the loans.

iii.The petitioner has also asked about the names of the top defaulters who have not repaid their loans to public sector banks.

 iv.The bench was headed by M Y Eqbal and C Nagappan.

3. LOK SABHA PASSED BILL TO CREATE COMMERCIAL BENCHES IN HIGH COURTS

i. The Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Bill, 2015 is passed by Loksabha.

ii.The Bill will help to bring  big foreign investments into the country and improve India's global image on ease of doing business.

iii. It will help to set up commercial benches in high courts to settle high value commercial disputes.

4. UNION CABINET GIVES APPROVAL TO MOU WITH BRICS COUNTRIES FOR ENERGY CONSERVATION

i.The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval to sign a Memorandum of Understanding  between India and BRICS countries.

ii.The agreement is made between india and BRICS countries for energy conservation.

iii.The MoU will provide Joint scientific and technological research energy efficiency cooperation among the member countries based on the principles of equality and mutual benefit.

5. AP CABINET DECIDED TO ABOLISH VAT AND CST ON SUGAR FACTORIES

i. Andhra Pradesh Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu decided to abolish Value-added tax and Central Sales Tax on Sugar factories.

ii.VAT is governed by each state separately and every state has distinct VAT act for their state.

CURRENT AFFAIRS DEC/16/2015

CURRENT AFFAIRS DEC/16/2015

1.The Supreme Court has appointed Justice (Retd) Virendra Singh as new Lokayukta of Uttar Pradesh. 

The first of its kind order given , the SC has invoked its constitutional power and appointed retired HC judge as UP Lokayukta after state machinery failed to appoint it. The order was given as per Article 142 of Constitution. 

The Supreme Court observed that 

The failure of constitutional functionaries to comply with the orders of the apex court of the country is deeply regretted and astonishing. 

Expressed displeasure that Chief Minister, leader of opposition and Chief Justice of High Court failed to comply with its order. Justice (Retd) Virendra Singh is a native of western Uttar Pradesh. 

He has served as Judge of Allahabad High Court from 2009 to 2011 and had superannuated in 2011. 

Background

The Supreme Court’s order came after State Selection Panel of Lokayukta comprising Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, leader of Opposition (LoP) Swami Prasad Maurya and Chief Justice of Allahabad high court Justice DY Chandrachud could not reach on any consensus.

2.Supreme Court has banned the registration of all diesel SUVs (Sports Utility Vechiles) and luxury cars in the entire National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi. 

The ban will be valid to SUVs, luxury cars with engine capacity of 2000 cc or more till March 31, 2016. The SC ruling aims at curbing the alarming pollution level in Delhi.

The Supreme Court ruled that

All trucks not bound for Delhi would be not allowed to enter the capital through National Highways 1 and 8. 

Trucks carrying goods for Delhi will have to shell out a steep environment compensation charge (ECC).

 EEC will be of 2,600 rupees for big trucks and 1,400 rupees for light commercial vehicles. 

All the private cabs operating in Delhi should convert into Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) by March 1, 2016. Commercial vehicles registered before 2005 are banned from entering Delhi.

Delhi government and all civic bodies to stop burning of waste. Asked the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to enforce construction norms strictly to stop builders from polluting the NCR region. 

Presently, over 23 percent (around 8.5 million) of the vehicles on Delhi roads run on diesel and more than 1,400 new cars are added every day. These diesel vehicles produce much more carcinogenic nitrogen oxide than petrol cars and are one main source of Particulate Matters.

3.Pakistan has successfully tested the nuclear-capable Shaheen-IA ballistic missile with a range of 900 km. 

The test of the missile was aimed at re-validating several design and technical parameters of the weapon system. However the location of the test was not disclosed by Pakistan Government. It is second nuclear capable missile test to be undertaken by Pakistan in December 2015. Earlier Shaheen-III surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a range of 2,750 km was tested. 

About Shaheen-IA ballistic missile

Shaheen-IA ballistic missile (In English means Falcon) is a land-based supersonic and short-to-intermediate range surface-to-surface guided ballistic missile.

It has been jointly designed and developed by the joint venture (JV) of NESCOM and the National Defence Complex (NDC).

The missile has optimal range of 750 km and is propelled by a two-stage solid-fuel rocket motor.

It is capable of carrying both conventional as well as nuclear warhead and is capable of striking targets deep within India.

4.Saudi Arabia has launched Islamic Military Coalition, a new military alliance of 34 nations mainly Muslim nations to fight terrorism.

It has been established in pursuance of the objectives and principles of the charter of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). It calls for all member states to cooperate to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. 

About Islamic Military Coalition

The joint operations centre of the coalition will be established in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

The coalition includes nations with large and established armies such as Turkey, Pakistan and Egypt as well as war-torn countries such as Libya and Yemen. 

Member nations: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Jordan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Turkey, Benin, Togo, Chad, Djibouti, Tunisia, Sudan, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Gabon, Somalia, Guinea, Comoros, Palestine,  Qatar, Kuwait, Cote d’Ivoire, Lebanon, Maldives, Libya, Mali, Malaysia, Egypt, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Yemen.

The establishment of coalition comes amid international pressure on the Gulf Arab states to do more in the fight against so-called Islamic State.

The new alliance will co-ordinate efforts against extremists in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt and Afghanistan.
5.International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has ended its 12-year investigation into concerns that Iran might be developing nuclear weapons. 

In this regard, IAEA Board of Governors have passed a resolution ending its long-running inquiry against Ian but allowing inspectors to continue to police the country’s nuclear programme. 

Earlier IAEA has concluded that Iran had conducted nuclear weapons-related research until 2003 and to a lesser extent until 2009, but found no evidence was found. 

The move is seen as a key step towards lifting UN, EU and US sanctions and a symbolic victory for Iran. Earlier in July 2015, P5+1 nations and Iran had agreed Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to lift the sanctions. 

Under the JCPOA, sanctions against the Iran would be lifted over a series of years in exchange for curbing its nuclear programme. However, Iran has strongly denied pursuing a clandestine nuclear weapons programme. It has clearly positioned itself that its nuclear programme civilian purpose and not for military purpose. 

About International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

IAEA is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. 

It was established as an autonomous organization in 1957 through its own international treaty, the IAEA Statute. 

The IAEA has its headquarters in Vienna, Austria. 

It is independent of the United Nations but reports to both the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and Security Council (UNSC). 

6.Combined Commanders Conference, an annual tri-services event chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was held on board INS Vikramaditya about 50 kms off Kochi coast. This is the first time when the conference was held outside New Delhi. 

It was attended by Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, all three services chiefs and other senior officers of three armed services.

Key facts 

The Conference is also known as the Unified Commanders’ Conference (UCC). During this conference India’s defence policy, doctrine and operational challenges are discussed in detail. 

Prime minister also reviewed exercise like firing of surface-to-surface missile by INS Nirghat during this conference. Prior to conference PM revived the tri-services guard of honour at Southern Naval Command.7.Senior revenue service officer Arun Kumar Jain appointed Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). 

His appointment was approved by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr Jain is Indian Revenue Services (IRS) officer of a 1978 batch. Prior to this appointment he was serving as acting Chairman of the board following superannuation of Anita Kapur on November 30, 2015. He will have short tenure of two months as Chairman of CBDt till January 2016. Presently, he is also holding additional charge of Member (Personnel and Vigilance) in the CBDT. 

About Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) 

CBDT is apex policy making body of Income Tax department in India and is the supreme body for framing policies related to direct taxes. It is a statutory authority established under The Central Board of Revenue Act, 1963. The composition of CBDT includes Chairman and six members.8.The average temperature over Arctic land for the year ending in September 2015 was the highest on record indicating that the Arctic is warming twice as fast as other parts of the Earth. 

It was revealed by the annual Arctic Report Card of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a federal agency of US for monitoring condition of the oceans and the atmosphere.

 Key facts 

The temperatures in areas at latitude 60 degrees north and higher i.e. over Arctic were 1.3 degrees Celsius above average for the year ending in September 2015. 

The recorded temperature rise is the warmest since observations began in 1900. Due to temperature rise the ice in this region is growing thinner each year. 

The sea ice coverage in the Arctic has reached its peak in February 2015 and marked the lowest extent since record-taking began in 1979. 

The newly formed thin ice comprises about 70 per cent of the winter ice cover in the Arctic Ocean compared to about half that in the 1980s. 

The rising temperatures are melting snow and ice cover in this region causing the ground and sea surface to absorb more heat.

9.Apurvi Chandela from Rajasthan has won a Gold medal in the 59th National Shooting Championship in Delhi. 

She won the gold medal in 10-metre Air Rifle event in women’s category by shooting 207.8 score in the finals. She was followed by Geetakshi Dixit (Rajasthan) at second spot and Anjum Moudgil (Haryana) at third spot. 

Winners of other Categories 

Men’s 50-metre Rifle 3 Positions event: Chain Singh (Indian Army) won the gold medal. Gagan Narang (Air India) won the Silver medal.

Junior men’s 25m sports pistol: Achal Pratap Singh Grewal (Gold), Gurmeet Singh (Silver), Aadeithya Johal (Bronze). 

Junior women’s 10m air rifle: Geetakshi Dixit (Gold), Prachi Pramod Gadkari (Silver) and Nupur Hagawane Patil (Bronze). 

Youth: Nupur Hagawane Patil (Gold), Ayushi Podder (Silver) and Manini Kaushik (Bronze).

Read more at: http://currentaffairs.gktoday.in/month/current-affairs-december-2015/page/11

CURRENT AFFAIRS DEC/15/2015

  CURRENT AFFAIRS DEC/15/2015

1. WORLD BANK RELEASED SHOCK WAVES: MANAGING THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON POVERTY REPORT

i. World Bank released a report titled Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty.

ii. The report explains the two-way relation between climate change and poverty and concludes that climate change is one of the primary reasons for poverty across the world.

iii. The report also provides guidance to create a situation so that climate change policies  can contribute to reduce  poverty and poverty-reduction policies contributing to climate change mitigation and resilience building.

iv. There are three major ways through which climate-sensitive events effects the ability of poor people to escape poverty-agricultural production,natural disasters ecosystems,food security and health.

2. INDIA RANKS 130TH IN 2015 HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX

i. India has been placed at 130th position in the 2015 Human Development Index among the 188 countries.

ii. In 2014 report india was placed at rank 135.

iii. Improvement in India’s rank from previous year has been attributed to rise in life expectancy and per capita income.

iv. India’s Life expectancy at birth has increased to 68 years in 2015 from 67.6 in the previous year

iv. Top Three Countries in the list are Norway, Australia and Switzerland

 

3. RAJASTHAN BECOMES THE FIRST STATE TO SUBMIT SMART CITY PLAN

i. Rajasthan has become the first state in the country to submit smart city plans for three selected cities to Union Government.

ii. Rajasthan state government has submitted smart city Proposals of Udaipur, Kota and Ajmer to Union Ministry of Urban Development.

iii. Smart Cities Mission  is flagship scheme of Union Government under which 100 smart cities would be built across the country in different states.

iv. The Aim of the Mission is to efficiently utilise available resources, assets and infrastructure in order to enhance quality of urban life and provide a clean and sustainable environment.

4. WEST BENGAL GOVERNMENT HONOURED BAPPI LAHIRI AND KUMAR SANU WITH LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

i. The West Bengal Government honoured music composer Bappi Lahiri and singer Kumar Sanu with Lifetime Achievement Awards.

ii. State Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee given awards at the inauguration of the annual Bangla Sangeet Mela in which artists from various fields relating to sangeet has participated.

5. OPERATION SMILE-II TO START FROM 1 JANUARY 2016

i. Union Government requested the states and Union Territories to start Operation Smile-II from 1 January 2016.

ii. Operation Smile-II is a campaigning to rescue or rehabilitate the missing children.

iii. Earlier operation smile-1 has helped in rescuing and rehabilitating 9146 missing children.

iv. Under Operation Smile the particulars of missing children will be uploaded on the Missing child portal of the Ministry of Women and Child Development by the respective State Police.

v. In January 2015 all States/UTs were advised to take up a month campaign titled Operation Smile -1 to rescue/rehabilitate the missing children. 

CURRENT AFFAIRS DEC/14/2015

CURRENT AFFAIRS DEC/14/2015

1. VIJAY KUMAR WON GOLD IN THE 59TH NATIONAL SHOOTING CHAMPIONSHIP

i. Vijay Kumar won the centre fire pistol gold in the 59th National shooting championship at the Dr Karni Singh Range in Tughlakabad in New Delhi.

ii. Gold medalists in the Championship

iii. Gurpreet Singh won gold medal in  25m standard pistol,,Pemba Tamang won gold medal in Rapid fire pistol and Achal Pratap Singh Grewal won gold in Air pistol & Standard pistol events

2. CONSTRUCTION WORK TAPI GAS PIPELINE PROJECT BEGINS

i. The starting ceremony of 1800-kilometre-long Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project was held at the ancient city of Mary of Turkmenistan.

ii. The ground breaking function was attended by Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, Pakistan Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif and Indian Vice President Mohd Hamid Ansari

iii. TAPI Project TAPI gas pipeline project is a proposed trans-country natural gas pipeline from Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan to India through Afghanistan and Pakistan. Countries involved: The abbreviation TAPI itself indicate its member countries- Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

3. J M SALI AWARDED 2015 SOUTH EAST ASIA WRITE AWARD

i. Indian-origin writer Jamaludeen Mohamed Sali from Singapore has been awarded prestigious 2015 South East Asia Write Award.

ii. The award was given to him at the annual ASEAN regional award for literary excellence in Bangkok, Thailand.

4. LEGENDARY ACTOR DILIP KUMAR CONFERRED WITH PADMA VIBHUSHAN

i. Legendary actor Dilip Kumar has been honoured with the prestigious Padma Vibhushan award.

ii. It is country’s second highest civilian award.

iii. The Substance and the Shadow id the autobiography written by author and former journalist Udaya Tara Nayar.

iv. He was recently Awarded with Padma Bhushan, Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Pakistan’s highest civilian award Nishan-e-Imtiaz.

v. Guinness World Record for winning the maximum number of awards by an Indian actor.

5. COP 21 UNDER UNFCCC ADOPTED PARIS AGREEMENT ON CLIMATE CHANGE

i. Conference of the Parties 21 under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

ii. The conference  was attended by 192 parties.

iii. India was represented by Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar.

iv. The agreement facilitates enforcement of global green house emission reduction measures in the post-2020 scenario

v. The Objectives of the protocol is to limit the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels.