Current affairs : December 19, 2016 for all competitive exams
Swasthya Raksha Programme launched by AYUSH Ministry
The Union AYUSH (Ayurveda,
Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) Ministry has launched
‘Swasthya Raksha Programme’ to promote health and health education in villages.
- The programme was initiated through
Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), Central
Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH), Central Council for Research
in Unani Medicine (CCRUM) and Central Council for Research in Siddha
(CCRS).
- It was launched by AYUSH Ministry
in October 2015.
British Library
to digitise 4,000 Bengali books
A new British Library
project will digitise 4,000 early printed Bengali books, amounting to more than
800,000 pages, as part of the U.K. India Year of Culture plans for 2017.
- The digitisation project is part of
a wider “Two Centuries of Indian Print” project, an international
partnership led by the British Library with funding from the Newton Fund
to digitise unique material from its South Asian printed books
collection.
- The books are in high demand and
span at least 22 South Asian languages.
Piyush Goyal to launch GARV-II
app to ensure power access to all
To ensure transparency in
the implementation of rural electrification programme, the Power Ministry will
launch a new app, GARV-II, to provide real-time data of all six lakh villages
of the country.
- Under this facility, village-wise;
habitation-wise base line data on household electrification for all states
provided by them has been incorporated.
Single tribunal to arbitrate inter-State water disputes
The Centre has decided to set up a single, permanent Tribunal to adjudicate
all inter-State river water disputes, a step which is aimed at resolving
grievances of States in a speedy manner. This body will subsume existing
tribunals.
- Besides the tribunal, the
government has also proposed to float some Benches by amending the
Inter-State Water Disputes Act, 1956 to look into disputes as and when
required.
- Unlike the tribunal, the Benches
will cease to exist once the disputes are resolved.
EC seeks end to nameless donations
Seeking to stop financing of election campaigns using black money, the
Election Commission has urged the government to amend laws to ban anonymous
contributions of Rs. 2,000 and above made to political parties.
- Present, There is no constitutional
or statutory prohibition on receipt of anonymous donations by political
parties.
- But there is an indirect partial ban on anonymous donations through the requirement of declaration of donations under Section 29C of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. But, such declarations are mandated only for contributions above Rs. 20,000.
Lanura is first
village to go cashless in J&K
Lanura in Budgam district
has become the first village in Jammu and Kashmir to go ‘cashless’.
- One member of each household in the
village has been trained in using the Electronic Payment System (EPS).
- The government has been pushing for
digital transactions since the demonetisation move.
Uttarakhand
nod for pay panel recommendations
The Harish Rawat Cabinet has
approved the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission.
- The recommendations will be
implemented from January 1 next year. The salary hike will benefit the 2.5
lakh State government employees and pensioners.
Rs.10,000-crore
fund planned for infra finance
The country’s infrastructure
sector, requiring investments of more than $1.5 trillion in the coming ten
years, is set to get a boost with a dedicated fund of Rs.10,000 crore to
provide credit enhancement for commercially viable projects.
- The fund — through ‘unconditional and irrevocable partial credit guarantee’ — will help enhance the credit rating of bonds issued by infrastructure firms so that they, in turn, can attract long-term investments especially from global insurance, pension and sovereign wealth funds.
YES Bank, Ola tie up to
provide cash at your doorstep
YES Bank, India’s fifth
largest private sector bank has partnered with Ola, one of the popular mobile
apps for transportation, to provide cash-on-demand at customer’s
doorstep.
- Customers will be able to use the Ola app to book a cab and opt for ‘cash at their doorsteps’ that will be enabled using Point-of-Sale (PoS) machines powered by YES Bank.
World’s first cloned goat with Cashmere:
The world’s first cloned goat bearing superfine Cashmere wool was recently
born in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The goat will be raised
in a base for animal husbandry research.
- The Cashmere fibre from the goat is
less than 13.8 micrometers thick, much finer than the average of 15.8
micrometers grown by the famous Erlang Mountain goats in Inner Mongolia.
- Cashmere wool is obtained from
Cashmere goats and other types of goat.
China opens 1st fully-owned satellite ground station:
China has launched its first fully- owned overseas satellite ground station
near the North Pole which could enable Beijing to collect satellite data
anywhere on the Earth at a speed it said was the fastest in the world.
- The facility, located in Sweden about 200 kms north of the Arctic Circle, would allow China to collect satellite data anywhere on Earth at speeds that were more than twice as fast as before.
Former Planning Commission
member Saumitra Chaudhuri passed away
Eminent economist and a
former member of the erstwhile Planning Commission, Saumitra Chaudhuri, who has
served on the board of high level advisory panels of the government passed away.
He was appointed member of Planning Commission in June 2009.
- He was the chairman of the Committee for Formulation of All Industry Rates of Duty Drawback 2005-06 to 2009-10 in the Ministry of Finance, where he later got an extension till date.
Heimlich, of
famed manoeuvre, dies
Henry J. Heimlich, the
thoracic surgeon and medical maverick who developed and crusaded for the
anti-choking technique that has been credited with saving an estimated 100,000
lives, died.
- More than four decades after inventing his manoeuvre, Heimlich used it himself on May 23 this year to save the life of an 87-year-old woman choking on a morsel of meat at Deupree House, their senior residence in Cincinnati.
BBC lifetime
achievement award for Phelps
American swimming legend
Michael Phelps will be given the BBC Sports Personality lifetime achievement
award after crowning his incredible career with five Olympic gold medals in
Rio.
- Phelps took his record Olympic haul
to 23 golds and 28 medals in all, claiming individual 200 metres butterfly
and medley titles and three relay triumphs.
India beat Belgium 2-1 to win
the hockey junior World Cup
India beat Belgium 2-1 to
win the hockey junior World Cup in Lucknow on 18th December 2016. This is
India’s second world title.
- India won their first title in 2001
in Hobart, Australia.
- In 1997, India won silver after
losing to Australia in the final in Milton Keynes, England. Belgium win a
PC in the dying seconds of the match. Score to make it 1-2.
ISL
2016: Atletico de Kolkata Won title
Atletico
de Kolkata were crowned Indian Super
League (ISL) champions for the second time in three years as they overcame
Kerala Blasters.
- The 2016 Indian Super League season is the third season of the Indian Super League, the football league, since its establishment in 2013.
