Current affairs : December 1, 2016 for all competitive exams
World Aids Day: 1st December
World AIDS Day is observed
across the world on 1st December annually.
- The theme for 2016 World Aids Day is ‘Hands Up for HIV Prevention’.
- The day is observed to raise awareness to the Aids
pandemic caused by the spread of the HIV infection.
- The day is celebrated by the government organizations, NGOs, civil society and other health officials by organizing the speeches or forums discussion related to the AIDS.
National anthem must be played before screening of films:
Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has ordered all cinema halls across the country to play
the national anthem before the screening of films and that all present must
“stand up in respect” till the anthem ended.
- The court has also asked the Cinema halls to display the national flag on screen when the anthem is played.
Cabinet approves India’s negotiating position adopted at
Kigali conference
The Union Cabinet has given its ex-post facto approval to the negotiating
position adopted by the Government of India at the recent Meeting of Parties
(MoP) to the Montreal Protocol of the Vienna Convention for Protection of Ozone
Layer that took place in October, 2016, in Kigali, Rwanda.
- The Cabinet has also approved the proposal of the
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to argue for adoption
of an appropriate baseline years from out of 3 options within a range of
2024 to 2030 with freeze in a subsequent year.
- The flexibility of using any of the options within
this range with a combination of the features of the proposed options in
consultation with the Government has also been approved.
15 new castes to be included
in Central OBC list
The Union Government has
approved inclusion of 15 new castes, 9 synonyms/sub-castes and 4 corrections in
the Central List of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) on 30
November,2016.
- The proposal was approved by the Union Cabinet Chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Govt approves Rs 2,000 Cr for
displaced families from Pok
Union Cabinet has approved
Rs 2,000 Cr development package for one-time settlement of 36,384 displaced
families from Pakistan occupied areas of Jammu and Kashmir and Chhamb.
- It followed the announcement of the Prime Minister’s Development Package for Jammu and Kashmir in November last year.
Cabinet approves Mumbai Urban
Transport Project
The Union Cabinet has
approved the Mumbai Urban Transport Project Phase-III estimated to cost Rs
10,947 crores on completion.
- The Cabinet was chaired by the Prime Minister
Narendra Modi.
- The project is expected to be completed in the next
five years during 13th Five Year Plan period.
India's GDP growth stays
healthy at 7.3% in Q2
The Central Statistical
Office has announced that India’s Gross Domestic Product accelerated to
7.3 % in the second quarter (July-September) of the 2016-17 financial year
from a provisional 7.1 % expansion in the previous quarter.
- On the other hand, the Gross Value Added (GVA)
increased to 7.1 percent.
- While GDP growth accelerated in the second quarter
from the 7.1 percent seen in the April-June quarter, GVA growth slowed
from the 7.3 percent registered in that period.
Ministers’ panel
pushes for use of Aadhaar for cashless transactions
The committee of senior
ministers constituted on the directions of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to
push for digital payment ecosystem in the country, has proposed Aadhaar
identification for cashless transactions, including linking of point of sale (PoS)
machines with UIDAI.
- The panel comprises Electronics and Information Technology and Law and Justice Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Oil and Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Health Minister J.P. Nadda, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar, Mines Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh.
Andhra pradesh CM Chandrababu
to head central committee to promote e-payments
NITI Aayog, under the banner
of the Union Government, on 30 November 2016 constituted a committee to “examine and implement measures to execute digital payment systems to
promote transparency, financial inclusion and ensure a healthy financial
ecosystem”.
- Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu
will be heading the committee that includes CMs of Odisha, Maharashtra,
Puducherry, and Sikkim: Naveen Patnaik, Devendra Fadnavis, V.
Narayanasamy, and Pawan Chamling.
Special invitees:
1. Vice-chairman of NITI Aayog, Arvind Panagariya has also
been added as a member of the committee.
2. Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog, Amitabh Kant will
be the member secretary,
3. Former chief of Unique Identification Development
Authority of India (UIDAI) Nandan Nilekani,
4. chairman of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Janmejaya
Sinha,
5. Rajesh Jain, managing director of netCore,
6. Sharad Sharma, co-founder of iSpirit and
7. Jayant Verma, professor at the IIM, Ahmedabad have been
roped in as special invitees.
- The Committee will identify the best global practices for implementing an economy primarily based on digital payment.
Himachal Pradesh Raj Bhawan
adopts cashless system after PM’s appeal
Raj Bhawan of Himachal
Pradesh has adopted the cashless system for all kind of payments.
- Governor Acharya Devvrat has directed Raj Bhawan’s
official in Shimla to use a cashless system or cheque in all kinds of
payments.
- The direction was issued after the Prime Minister’s
appeal in this regard.
Sachin Tendulkar's autobiography
"Playing it my way" named Book of the Year
The autobiography of India’s
batting legend Sachin Tendulkar “Playing it my way” has won the prestigious
Crossword Book of the Year Award in the Autobiography category.
- The book is penned by renowned cricket historian and
Tendulkar’s close friend Boria Majumdar.
- Earlier, it also had entered the Limca Book of World
Records for being the best selling adult hardback across both fiction and
non-fiction.
Outgoing Chief
Secretary given a grand farewell
Chief Secretary Rajiv
Sharma, retired from service on Wednesday after attaining superannuation, he
was given a send-off on a scale unprecedented, perhaps the first-of-its-kind
farewell to a bureaucrat in the country.
- The honour accorded to Mr. Sharma was in recognition of his services to the State right from its inception and steering it through a critical phase amid several post-bifurcation challenges posed by Andhra Pradesh and implementing the vision of the government with commitment.
Federal Bank ties up with
Spice Digital
Federal Bank has tied up
with Spice Digital for cash management services through the bank’s e-collection
facility.
- As per the arrangement, 20,000 plus retail outlets
of Spice Digital can now remit its cash collection at the Federal Bank
branches pan India.
- This helps the outlets to get replenished its
running limits on the spot enabling them to continue to serve the
customers hassle-free.
- Spice Digital Ltd is a market leader for mobile value added services (MVAS), mobile applications and Internet products and services.
Cuban rumba and Ugandan music now on UNESCO’s heritage
list:
Cuba’s sensual rumba dance and Belgium’s thriving beer culture have been
added to UNESCO’s coveted list of “intangible” heritage.
- The list of “intangible” cultural treasures was
created 10 years ago, mainly to increase awareness about them, while
UNESCO also sometimes offers financial or technical support to countries
struggling to protect them.
President awarded 2nd Indologist
award:
The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee recently presented the second
ICCR ‘Distinguished Indologist’ Award to Prof. Yu Long Yu of the People’s
Republic of China.
- The annual ‘Distinguished Indologist’ Award has been
instituted by ICCR to recognize eminent Indologists working abroad who
have made outstanding contribution to the study/teaching/research of
India’s philosophy, thought, history, art, culture, languages, literature,
civilization, society etc. The Award amount is US$ 20000/-.
- The first ‘Distinguished Indologist’ Award was presented to Prof. Heinrich Freiherr Von Stietencron of Germany last year.
