Current affairs : December 13, 2016 for all competitive exams
NDRF teams pre-positioned in Andhra Pradesh and
Tamil Nadu for cyclone Vardah
In view of development of cyclone Vardah over
Bay of Bengal, 19 flood rescue teams of NDRF have been prepositioned in coastal
areas of Andhra Pradesh & Tamil Nadu as a proactive deployment.
- The Disaster Management Act has made the statutory
provisions for constitution of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for
the purpose of specialized response to natural and man-made disasters.
Railways mulls exclusive suburban tracks
Indian Railways is planning to build
exclusive rail tracks for suburban trains in a bid to ease congestion.
- Since running suburban services on existing tracks
adversely affects the capacity of freight trains and long-distance trains,
it would not be possible for Railways to use existing infrastructure for
the purpose of suburban services.
Government
committee lists digital measures to cut cash usage
A committee, headed by former finance
secretary Ratan Watal, has suggested ways to encourage digital payments.
- The government has been pitching for a less-cash
economy after it demonetised old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on November 8.
India
ranks 4th most vacation deprived country globally
The
Expedia ‘Vacation Deprivation report 2016 has ranked India fourth most vacation
deprived country globally.
- In India, 63% take fewer days of the vacations that
they get. First three countries are Spain (68%), UAE (68%), Malaysia (67%)
and South Korea (64%).
India
Surpasses Saudi Arabia and Russia to become Fourth Largest Defence Spender
According
to the 2016 Jane’s Defence Budgets Report, released by research firm IHS
Markit on December 12, 2016, India has become the fourth largest
defence spender in the world, after US, China, and the UK.
- India, which is Asia’s third-largest economy spent $50.6
billion in 2016, from previous $46.6 billion in 2015.
- The US, China, and the UK remained the top three
defence spenders respectively.India was followed by Saudi Arabia and
Russia at fifth and sixth positions respectively. Russia, which was at the
fourth place in 2015, slipped to the sixth spot in 2016.
Researchers
discover Hot Atomic Hydrogen in Earth’s Thermosphere
Researchers
have discovered the existence of hot atomic hydrogen atoms in thermosphere, the
upper layer of earth’s atmosphere.
- The discovery changes current understanding of the
distribution of hot atomic hydrogen and its interaction with other
atmospheric constituents.
- This discovery was based on new numerical techniques
and their application of remote sensing measurements acquired by NASA’s
TIMED (Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics
satellite) satellite.
India’s
largest indoor sports arena planned in Kolkata
India’s
largest indoor sports arena will come up in New Town area of Kolkata, West
Bengal. It will come up on ten acres of land near the Deer park in Eco
Park.
- It will have capacity to accommodate upto 15,400 people at one time. Besides, it will have
solar power.
- It will be larger than Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium
in new Delhi, which has a capacity to accommodate 14,348 spectators at one
time.
IAF
organises seminar to increase awareness about organ donation
The
Indian Air Force (IAF) had organised seminar to increase awareness about organ
donation.
- Around 500 air warriors and their families joined hands to strengthen the organ donation movement in the country.
The Indo-Pacific potential
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, or Jokowi
is on his official visit to India.
- Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President
Jokowi met on the sidelines of the 9th East Asia Summit in Myanmar in
2014, this is the first time in the two years that they have been in power
that they will meet substantively.
Assam’s
Hailakandi district attains 100% in opening up of bank accounts of tea garden workers
Assam’s
Hailakandi district has attained 100 per cent mark in opening up of bank
accounts of tea garden workers.
- All the 17 tea estates in the district have completed the process of opening up of bank accounts of individual tea garden workers.
EU, Cuba
sign deal to normalise ties
The
European Union (EU) and Cuba have signed a deal to normalise ties between
them.
- Prior to it, Cuba was the only Latin American
country not to have a cooperation deal with the 28-nation EU.
- The EU had blocked ties with Cuba for decades over
issues such as trade, human rights and migration.
Islamic State retakes ancient city of Palmyra
Islamic State militants have recaptured the
ancient city of Palmyra from Syrian troops.
- In winning back Palmyra, the extremist group
appeared to be taking advantage of the Syrian and Russian preoccupation
with Aleppo, timing its attack to coincide with a major government
offensive to capture the last remaining opposition-held neighborhoods in
the northern city.
- Palmyra is a UNESCO designated World Heritage site and home to some of the world’s most magnificent ancient ruins.
First
two US made F-35 stealth fighter jet land in Israel
The
first two US made F-35 stealth fighters landed at Nevatim air base in Isreal
yesterday.
- They are the first two of 50 warplanes bought from the US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin.
Donald
Trump picks Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State
US
President-elect Donald Trump has picked ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his
Secretary of State, top diplomatic position in US.
- If approved by the Senate, Tillerson will replace
John Kerry as the Secretary of State.
- Tillerson is a veteran chief executive who has had
extensive overseas business dealings. He has close ties to the Russian
government. He had driven Exxon’s expansion in Russia for decades and
opposed US sanctions imposed on Russia for its seizure of Crimea.
New ISI chief:
Pakistan’s new army chief General Qamar Javed
Bajwa has appointed Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar as director-genereal of
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), replacing Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar.
- Earlier, Lt. Gen. Mukhtar was the Commander of V
Corps of Karachi from September 2014 to December 2016.
New UN secretary
general:
Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio
Guterres was recently sworn in as Secretary-General of the United Nations.
- He is the ninth U.N. chief in the body’s 71-year
history.
- UN. chiefs are charged with promoting sustainable development, working for peace around the globe, protecting human rights and dealing with humanitarian catastrophes.
Priyanka
Chopra Appointed UNICEF Global Goodwill Ambassador
Indian
Actress Priyanka Chopra was appointed as UNICEF’s Global Goodwill
Ambassador.
- It was announced by soccer player David Beckham and
British actress Millie Bobby Brown on the eve of UNICEF’s 70th anniversary
in New York.
- Earlier in 2016, she was appointed as UNICEF’s
National Ambassador in India with responsibility of working on social
issues related to children’s rights and adolescence.
- She also has been associated with other causes such as women’s rights, environment, health, education and gender equality.
2
Indians in US’ Richest Entrepreneurs Under 40 list: Forbes
Two
Indian-origin men Vivek Ramaswamy and Apoorva Mehta have figured in Forbes
magazine’s second annual list of wealthiest entrepreneurs under the age of
40.
- The list was topped by Facebook founder Mark Zuckeberg. Vivek Ramaswamy, a successful biotech entrepreneur was ranked 24th on with a networth of $600 million and Apoorva Mehta (cofounder of Instacart, a grocery delivery service) stands at 31st spot with a $360 million networth.
Pankaj
Advani wins 11th World Billiards Championship
Ace
Indian cueist Pankaj Advani has won his 11th World Billiards (150-Up format)
Championships title.
- In the summit clash held in Bengaluru, Karnataka he defeated Peter Gilchrist of Singapore by six games to three. It was his overall 16th world title.
