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Current affairs : December 11, 2016 for all competitive exams


Govt. to hold lucky draws to boost digital transactions

In a bid to promote cashless economy, the NITI Aayog on December 10  proposed organising weekly lucky draws for all consumers and merchants using digital modes of payments with a focus on “poor, lower middle class and small businesses”.
  • The government has entrusted the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) to formulate the modalities of the new scheme, which follows the various discounts on digital transactions announced by the Finance Ministry.
  • The budget for this scheme, according to official sources, is likely to be about Rs. 125 crore.
  • The NITI Aayog assured that all those who have used digital payment systems after November 8 will be eligible to participate in the scheme.

Committee headed by Ratan P. Watal submitted its report to Finance 

Minster to boost Digital Payment
The committee formed by Finance Ministry to boost Digital Payment system in India that was headed by Shri. Ratan P. Watal submitted its report to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on 09 December 2016.
  • The committee has recommended to bridge the gaps between those are digitally active and those are not, by promoting competition, open access & interoperability in payments.
  • The report also recommended including those group of citizens into the digital payment system who are not well versed with it so that they can use it for their benefit and reduce dependence on cash. Safeguarding of the digital security system should also be maintained.

Laureates and leaders unite for children

Nobel laureates, representatives of organisations that have won the Nobel Prize for Peace and world leaders gathered at Rashtrapati Bhavan for a summit titled ‘Laureates and Leaders for Children’ on December 10.
  • The two-day summit organised by Kailash Satyaythi Children’s Foundation was inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee, during which deliberations were held on how the world can be united through compassion for children.
  • The summit broke into 20 round table conferences titled ‘Circles for Freedom: Lend Voices to our Children’ to ideate on building a world free from all forms of child exploitation.

Aadhaar is a must for JEE applicants

Candidates must mandatorily have an Aadhaar number to apply for the JEE (Mains) examination, 2017, for selection to institutes such as Indian Institutes of Technology.
  • Candidates who do not receive an Aadhaar number in time can enter their 28-digit Aadhaar enrolment ID printed on the Aadhaar enrolment slip while filling the JEE form online.
  • In case the Aadhaar enrolment facility is not available at the facilitation centres, the applicants should submit a request for Aadhaar enrolment. The facilitation centre will issue a registration number to such applicants.
  • This number should be entered by the applicants in the JEE application form.
  • The requirement is not applicable to candidates from Jammu & Kashmir, Assam and Meghalaya.

India offers tsunami alert system to SCS countries

As part of a soft-diplomacy effort, India is looking to have South China Sea countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia and Philippines use the tsunami early warning-system developed by India.
  • Since a deadly tsunami struck Tamil Nadu in 2004, India has put in place its own tsunami-alert system over the years that immediately warns concerned authorities in India of any large earthquake in the Indian Ocean and the threat it poses.

India-UK Conference on Ease of Doing Business concluded

The India-UK Conference on Ease of Doing Business concluded in New Delhi on 10 December 2016.
  • This conference on Ease of Doing Business would act as an opportunity to enhance the strategic bilateral partnership between the two nations to the next level.
  • The two-day conference was jointly inaugurated by Ramesh Abhishek, Secretary of Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Dominic Asquith, the British High Commissioner.
  • This partnership on Ease of Doing Business of the two nations is important because it will play a role that the business environment plays in encouraging trade, investment, innovation and economic growth.

Murder rate declining in India

Official data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) show that the murder rate in India has been steadily declining over the past two decades.
  • The murder rate (murders per lakh population) for 64 years (from 1952 to 2015) from the NCRB were compiled by the Clio Infra Project — a project which has collected worldwide data on social, economic, and institutional indicators — and The Hindu .
  • Data show that the rate has declined from 4.6 in 1992, the peak year of violence (in terms of murder rate) to 2.6 in 2015.

28th Edition of SIMCON 2016, chaired by I&B Minister, M. Venkaiah Naidu

The 28th State Information Ministers Conference (SIMCON), 2016, was organised by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting from December 9 to December 10, 2016 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
  • I&B Minister Shri Venkaiah Naidu chaired SIMCON 2016ii. The two day conference was chaired by Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu.
  • The aim of the confrence is promote partnership among Centre and State, to discuss key issues in the films & broadcasting sector and new initiatives undertaken in the information domain.

Hyderabad Children’s Theatre Festival conducts from December 12:

The stage is all set for the seventh edition of the Hyderabad Children’s Theatre Festival (HCTF) to be conducted from December 12 to 14, with one play on each day.
  • The theme this year is ‘puppets and masks.’ A puppet workshop for children will mark the beginning of the festival, 24 hours ahead, on December 10.

Vietnam invites India to explore energy in South China Sea

Highlighting India’s importance as a regional power, Vietnam has urged New Delhi to intensify economic engagement with Southeast Asia.
  • Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, Chairwoman of National Assembly of Vietnam and member of Standing Committee of Politburo, Communist Party of Vietnam, on December 9 extended invitation to India to explore energy in South China Sea and supported India’s multilateral membership plans.
  • Ms. Ngan, who is the first woman head of the National Assembly of Vietnam.

Kounotori Experiment

December 9, Japan’s space agency lauched Kounotori (“White Stork”), a space capsule that will attempt to clean space debris orbiting around earth, using an unusual approach. 
  • Orbital debris, which consists of man-made objects, is usually the residue of inactive space vehicles. Because these objects move at high speeds and can collide with incoming space vehicles, there’s a case for cleaning them out.

Viola Desmond first Canadian woman on banknote

A black civil rights leader who led a struggle against anti-black segregation and racism in Canada in the 1940s will be the first Canadian woman to figure on a banknote. 
  • Viola Desmond will appear on the Canadian $10 bill - replacing the nation's first prime minister John A Macdonald who will be moved to a higher bill - when new banknotes go into circulation in 2018.



Rajendar Kumar Appointed New CBDT Member

Senior Indian Revenue Service officer Rajendra Kumar has been appointed as the new Member of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the policy making body for the Income Tax Department.
  • The orders for appointment of Kumar, a 1980-batch Indian Revenue Service officer, was issued by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. 

Civil Engineer Iqbal Sayed becomes first Indian to medal at Mr Olympia

Mumbai's Iqbal Sayed, who works as a civil engineer with Reliance Infrastructure and Mumbai Metro, became the first Indian to win a medal at the Mr Olympia event, after securing a silver medal in the event. 
  • Sayed beat participants from 20 countries to finish second in the Olympia Amateur Asia 2016's Classic Bodybuilding category.

Virat Kohli Becomes First Indian Captain To Score Three Double Centuries

Virat Kohli became the first Indian to score three double hundreds in a year, playing against England on 11th December 2016.
  • His first-ever Test double century came against West Indies this year, followed by another against New Zealand. 
  • There are only three batsmen who had scored three double centuries and one batsman who has scored 4 double centuries in a single year.




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