Current affairs : December 20, 2016 for all competitive exams
International Human Solidarity
Day 20 December
The United Nations' (UN)
International Human Solidarity Day is annually held on December 20 to celebrate
unity in diversity.
- It also aims to remind people on the importance of
solidarity in working towards eradicating poverty.
- On International Human Solidarity Day, governments are reminded of their commitments to international agreements on the need for human solidarity as an initiative to fight against poverty.
PM launches major skill
development projects in Kanpur
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
laid foundation of the first-ever Indian Institute of Skills of the country at
Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh 19 December 2016.
- The institute is aimed at making youth more
employable and self-reliant. The institute has been conceptualised by the
Prime Minister during his visit to Singapore's Institute of Technical
Education.
Older vehicles
to pay Green Tax from new year in Kerala
Transport vehicles that are
10 years old and non-transport vehicles above 15 years will have to pay the
green tax announced in the State revised budget to check automobile pollution
caused by older vehicles and to discourage their use in the State, from January
1, 2017.
- The green tax will also have to be paid by older
transport and non-transport vehicles registered in other States and
entering Kerala. However, the motorcycles and autorickshaws registered in
the State have been exempted.
- In the transport category, four-wheelers and above
(light motor vehicles) will have to pay Rs.200 as green tax annually,
medium vehicles Rs.300 and heavy vehicles Rs.400. Four-wheelers and above
coming under the non-transport category will have to remit Rs.400 for five
years.
In digital push, telecom regulator moots free data for
rural users
The Telecom Authority of India has recommended a scheme under which a reasonable
amount of data say 100 MB per month may be made available to rural subscribers
for free.
- The cost of implementation of the scheme may be met
from Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).
EPFO lowers interest rate on
EPF to 8.65 percent for FY17
Employee's Provident Fund
Organization EPFO decided to lower the interest on EPF deposits for the current
fiscal to 8.65%, from 8.8% provided in 2015-16, for its over four crore
subscribers.
- The Employees Provident Fund Organisation's apex
decision-making body, the Central Board of Trustees (CBT), has taken a
decision to lower the interest rate to 8.65 percent for the current
fiscal 2016-2017 from 8.8 in 2015-16.
Cyrus
Mistry steps down as director of Tata group firms
Cyrus Mistry on Monday
resigned from the boards of all publicly listed companies of the Tata group.
- After a bitter, eight-week boardroom battle against Ratan Tata’s ‘illegal coup to unceremoniously remove’ him as the chairman of Tata Sons on October 24.
PNB MetLife
launches VR-based customer service platform
Private life insurance firm
PNB MetLife on Monday launched a virtual reality-based customer service
platform.
- Customers need to visit select PNB MetLife branches
and wear the VR headset to get their service requirements addressed.
Assisting them in this process would be an insurance expert based out of
another location.
- It is the first-of-its-kind in the insurance sector.
- The conVRse platform would initially be available in 15 branches across 10 cities — Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Jammu, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, and Pune.
Micromax, Uber join hands to
offer integrated experience
Mobile phone brand Micromax
Informatics, and taxi-hailing service Uber announced a partnership that will
help Micromax customers book an Uber ride on their phones without having
to download application.
- Through the partnership, Micromax aims to push nearly 100 million devices that offer an integrated experience with Uber over the next three years.
India-Nepal Folk Crafts
Festival kicks off in Kathmandu
The five-day India-Nepal
Folk Crafts Festival (INCF-2016) begins in Kathmandu, Nepal on December 19,
2016 to promote cultural exchanges between the two countries.
- The Main aim of the festival to promote crafts based
bilateral relations and enhance cultural exchanges between the artisans
of India and Nepal.
World's oldest water sample
found to be 2 billion years old
University of Toronto scientists have discovered
the oldest water sample dating back to about two billion years, more than 500
million years more ancient than the previous oldest samples.
- The water pool was found at a depth of nearly 3 kilometres in a Canadian mine. The discovery could give clues about life forms beneath the surface of other planets.
Rouhani unveils bill of rights
Iran’s President Hassan
Rouhani unveiled a landmark bill of rights.
- The bill guaranteeing freedom of speech, protest, fair trials and privacy in the country.
Pakistan Senate
adopts demonetisation resolution
Pakistan’s Senate passed a
resolution seeking withdrawal of high denomination Rs. 5,000 currency notes “in
a phased manner” to curb the flow of black money.
- It said the withdrawal of the currency notes should
take place within three to five years in order to purge markets of the
notes.
- Currently, 3.4 trillion notes are in circulation in country of which 1.02 trillion notes are of Rs. 5,000 denominations.
For the first time in nearly 150 years, India’s economy
surpasses that of United Kingdom:
Owing to Britain’s recent Brexit-related problems and thanks to India’s
rapid economic growth, India has managed to overtake its erstwhile colonial
master United Kingdom in terms of the size of the economy – the first time
after nearly 150 years.
- This dramatic shift has been driven by India’s rapid economic growth over the past 25 years as well downslide in the value of the pound over the last 12 months.
Ultrasound devices to be mapped
In an attempt to identify unauthorised and unregistered diagnostic centres
in the country, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoFW) has decided
that all ultrasound machines in States will be mapped.
- The mapping will be carried out by the authorities
in States visiting every centre and recording details of the devices.
Harvard researchers create
world’s smallest radio reciever
Harvard researchers from the
Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have
built the world’s smallest radio receiver, made out of atomic scale
defects in pink diamonds.
- The tiny radio is robust and biocompatible, which means it can be used in all sorts of extreme applications, from a space probe headed to Venus to a pacemaker embedded in a human body.
Saanjhi Saanjh:
It is a National Newspaper dedicated to Senior Citizen. The first issue of
this bilingual newspaper was recently released.
- This Newspaper for Senior Citizen is edited by Ms.
J.V Manisha Bajaj, Secretary, Harikrit, an NGO for elderly people.
Vasectomy fortnight:
The government observed ‘Vasectomy Fortnight’ between November 21 and
December 4 with the hope to create awareness about male sterilisation and, more
importantly, to facilitate district administrations reach sterilisation targets
through campaigns.
- At the end of the programme, it was concluded that
men were unwilling to share the burden of birth control compared to
women.
- This is besides the fact that sterilisation is simpler in men than women — recovery time and surgical risk are smaller, complications are rare and deaths rarer.
Justice J S Khehar appointed
as Chief Justice of India
Justice J S Khehar has been
appointed as the 44th Chief Justice of India after President Pranab
Mukherjee’s approval.
- Khehar, who led the five-judge constitution bench in
the Supreme Court which had struck down the controversial NJAC Act for
the appointment of judges, will replace Justice TS Thakur as the top
judge. Thakur will be demitting office on January 3, 2017.
- Justice Khehar, 64, will be the first Chief Justice
from the Sikh community. He will be sworn in on January 4 and will hold
the tenure for over seven months till August 27, 2017.
Priyanka Chopra becomes Assam
tourism brand ambassador
BJP led Assam government has
roped in Bollywood actress, Priyanka Chopra as the brand ambassador of state
tourism.
- She will promote brand entity of "Awesome
Assam". Chopra will visit Assam on December 24 and address
international tour operators meet.
Miss
Puerto Rico is Miss World 2016
Stephanie del Valle of
Puerto Rico was crowned Miss World 2016.
- Crowned by Miss World 2015 Mireia Lalaguna of Spain,
del Valle called it an “honor and a great responsibility” to represent her
Caribbean homeland.
- Indian contestant Priyadarshini Chatterjee lost out on the title after making it to the top 20 at the pageant.
Andy Murray wins record 3rd
BBC Sports Personality of the Year
After claiming his second
Wimbledon title and maiden ATP World Tour Finals crown, Britain's world number
one Andy Murray won a record third BBC Sports Personality of the Year
award.
- Murray previously won the award in 2013 and 2015
after his London 2012 Olympic gold and maiden Wimbledon title in 2015.
- Note: Michael Phelps will be given the BBC Sports Personality lifetime achievement award 2016.
Karun Nair scores triple
century in test, 2nd Indian to do so.
Karun Nair became the second
Indian to score a triple ton in Test cricket as the smashed unbeaten 303 runs
off just 381 balls and powered India to their highest ever team total in
Tests.
- Eight years back, Virender Sehwag demoralised a
star-studded South Africa unit as he made his way to second triple century
in Test cricket.
- That was in Chennai where the opener smashed 319
runs for India, still the highest individual score for India.
- India's First Innings score 759/7 dec. is the highest in Indian Test Cricket history.
Yesteryear
Hollywood siren Zsa Zsa Gabor passes away at 99
Zsa Zsa Gabor, the
jet-setting Hungarian actor and socialite who helped invent a new kind of fame
out of multiple marriages, conspicuous wealth and jaded wisdom about the
glamorous life, died.
- Her memoir, One Life Is Not Enough , came out in 1991 and dished out many personal details.
