Current affairs : December 24, 2016 for all competitive exams
National Consumer Day
The Department of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs Food and
Public Distribution is celebrating the National Consumer Day this year with the
theme “Alternate Consumer Disputes
Redressal” on 24th December, 2016.
- The National
Consumer Day is observed every year on December 24. On this day, the
Consumer Protection Act, 1986 had received the assent of the
President.
- The Day is an
annual occasion for celebration and solidarity within the national
consumer movement and is an opportunity to promote the basic rights of all
consumers.
NITI Aayog launches the National Index for Performance on
Health Outcomes
NITI Aayog has launched the National Index
for Performance on Health Outcomes. With this, the NITI Aayog aims
to nudge States towards transformative action in the Health sector.
- This initiative
is envisioned to bring about the much required improvements in social
sector outcomes, which have not kept pace with the economic growth in this
country.
The Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Fifth
Ordinance, 2016
The President of India has promulgated the Enemy Property (Amendment and
Validation) Fifth Ordinance, 2016.
- A new section has
been inserted in the Bill to say that “the Custodian, may, after making
such inquiry as he deems necessary, by order, declare that the property of
the enemy or the enemy subject or the enemy firm described in the order,
vests in him under this Act and issue a certificate to this effect and
such certificate shall be the evidence of the facts stated therein”.
First 2G (Second Generation) Ethanol Bio-refinery in
India to be set up at Bathinda (Punjab)
The government is planning
to set up the country’s first Second Generation (2G) Ethanol Bio-refinery at
village Tarkhanwala, Bathinda (Punjab), with an approximate investment of Rs
600 crores.
- Hindustan
Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), a Central Government Public Sector
Undertaking, is setting up the project.
- The Bathinda
Bio-refinery will be utilizing agriculture residues for production of 100
KL per day or 3.20 crore litres per annum of ethanol which may be
sufficient to meet the 26% of the ethanol blending requirement of the
State.
Passport
rules changed to help single mothers, orphaned children
In a move to speed up and
simplify the passport delivery process, the government announced a series of
steps that would help single mothers, orphaned children, and sadhus obtain
passports with ease.
Applicants can submit for
Proof for Date of Birth:
- PAN Card, birth
certificate, voter identity card, Aadhaar, driving license
50
biotech labs to be set up in Arunachal Pradesh
A total of 50 biotechnology
laboratories will be set up in Arunachal Pradesh as part of a Rs. 75-crore push
to encourage biotechnology research and start-ups.
- The labs will be
established as part of a Department of Biotechnology scheme, called
Biotech Labs in Senior Secondary Schools (bliss) to encourage students to
consider careers in biotechnology.
- According to the scheme, Rs. 15 lakh will be provided per school to set up basic facilities at biotech labs and infrastructure including computers, freezers and microscopes.
Japan drags India to WTO against steps on iron, steel
imports
Japan has dragged India to the World Trade Organisation’s dispute
settlement body for imposing safeguard measures on steel products and minimum
import price on iron and steel products.
- India had imposed
safeguard measures in steel in September 2015 and minimum import price
(MIP) on iron and steel products in February this year.
- Under MIP,
products cannot be imported unless their import prices are at or above the
imposed minimum.
- Japan, world’s second largest steel producer, found these measures inconsistent with the WTO norms.
Global Wage Report shows India
to be among the worst levels of gender wage disparity
According to Global Wage
Report, India has among the worst levels of gender wage disparity.
- Men earning more than women in similar jobs with the gap exceeding 30%, the Global Wage Report 2016-17 released by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
'Coal Mitra' portal launched
to facilitate flexibility in utilization of domestic coal
Power Minister Piyush Goyal
has launched 'Coal Mitra' Web Portal to facilitate Flexibility in Utilization
of Domestic Coal.
- With this
Government has also allowed Coal Swapping between psus and the Private
Sector.
- This move is
aimed at optimum utilisation by private as well as public power companies
of the coal.
- The portal will enhance transparency in coal swapping and help reduce operational and logistic costs, bringing tariffs down.
Textile Ministry to launch
Bunkar Mitra-Handloom Helpline Centre for weavers
The Ministry of Textiles has
decided to establish a “Bunkar Mitra-Handloom Helpline Centre” where
professional queries of weavers will be answered by the experts in the
field.
- This helpline
will function from 10.00 a.m to 6 p.m. And initially it will be provided
- In 7 languages viz., Hindi, English, and 5 other regional languages (Telugu, Tamil, Kannada Bengali & Assamese).
Odisha Government launches
Biju Sishu Surakshya Yojana for HIV+ orphan children
Naveen Patnaik launches Biju
Sishu Surakshya Yojana to nurture orphan kids.
- The state
government launched the Biju Sishu Surakshya Yojana, a scheme to nurture
the orphan and HIV-infected children residing in different child care
institutions and orphanages.
China open to India joining economic corridor
China has said it has an “open attitude” to India joining the $46 billion
economic corridor but it wants to know New Delhi’s response to a top Pakistani
army general’s offer to participate in the project.
- It is a 3,000-km
corridor linking China’s far-western region to Pakistan’s south-western
Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir
(pok).
- It is massive
project of road, rail, energy schemes, pipelines and investment parks.
France is the first to use
drones for its national mail service
France’s airspace regulator,
General Directorate for Civil Aviation, has approved the plan to launch drone
delivery program, making France the world’s first national postal service to
use drones regularly.
ICICI Bank Launches eazypay
app for Merchants
ICICI Bank has now launched
a payments collection app for offline merchants and retailers called Eazypay
which will allow customers to pay via UPI, cards, net banking and the bank’s
Pockets wallet app.
- Note that this is
an app only for ICICI Bank customers who have a current account with the
bank and will not allow other bank account holders to register on the app.
NSE to
introduce new interest rate futures
The National Stock Exchange
(NSE) will introduce new interest rate futures (IRF) contracts from December 30
on six-year government bonds maturing in 2022, the exchange said in a circular.
- The IRF contract
is based on 6.84 per cent central government security maturing on December
19, 2022.
- An IRF contract is an agreement to buy or sell a debt instrument at a specified future date at a pre-determined price.
Tata Steel to acquire 100%
equity in Brahmani River Pellets,Odisha
Tata Steel has signed an
agreement to acquire 100% equity in Odisha-based Brahmani River Pellets (BRPL)
for Rs 900 crore.
- The deal which will be financed through the company’s internal cash flows is tipped to help Tata Steel as it ramps up capacity at its new plant at Kalinganagar.
Acclaimed Bengali poet Shankha
Ghosh to get 2016 Jnanpith Award
Bengali poet and literary
critic Shankha Ghosh will get the Jnanpith Award for 2016.
- The award is
given for exceptional contribution in the field of literature.
- The award was constituted way back in 1965 and He is the sixth Bengali to get this prestigious award.
Forbes
India Celebrity 100 list
Salman Khan has been ranked
No. 1 on the fifth Forbes India Celebrity 100 List.
- The Forbes'
ranking is based on two parameters:
1. Estimates
of entertainment-related earnings
2. Estimates
of fame.
- The period under
consideration for both is 1 October 2015 to 30 September 2016.
- 2nd Rank – Sha Rukh Khan, 3rd – Virat Kohli, 4th – Akshay Kumar 5th – MS Dhoni
APIS India ropes in badminton
sensation PV Sindhu as its brand ambassador
APIS India a leading
producer, distributor and exporter of honey under APIS Himalaya brand, has
roped in Indian badminton champion and Rio Olympics silver medalist PV Sindhu
as its brand ambassador.
Shiva Keshavan grabs gold at
Asian Luge Championship
India’s Seasoned Winter
Olympian Shiva Keshavan clinched a gold medal at the Asian Luge Championship on
23rd December.
- Keshavan finished the 2 heat race with a time of 1
minute, 39.962 seconds and top speed of 130.4 km/h.
- Japan's Tanaka Shohei won silver while Chinese
Taipei's Lien Te-An claimed bronze.
- Earlier this year, Shiva was forced to withdraw from the 2016 World Championships due to lack of funds.
Pakistan's first Sikh
cricketer Mohinder Pal Singh to join national cricket academy
Pakistan cricket has seen
Christians and Hindus represent the country at home and abroad, but for the
first time a Sikh has secured a place in the National Cricket Academy.
- Mohinder Pal Singh, who hails from Nankana Sahib (Lahore), is among the list of top 30 emerging cricketers in the country.
