Daily Current affairs - December 11th, 2017 for all competitive exams
International Mountain Day observed on December 11 every year.
- The General Assembly “encouraged the international community to organize events at all levels on that day to highlight the importance of sustainable mountain development.
- The increasing attention to the importance of mountains led the UN General Assembly to declare 2002 the UN International Year of Mountains.
- On this occasion, the UN General Assembly has designated 11 December, from 2003 onwards, as “International Mountain Day”.
Minister of Law & Justice and E&IT launches first NIC CERT
Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Hon’ble Minister of Law & Justice and Electronics & Information Technology inaugurated the “NIC-CERT”, a setup of National Informatics Centre, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on 11thDecember 2017.
- This has made services very accessible to the citizens, it has also exposed them to the threats and vulnerabilities which are an inherent part of cyberspace.
- NIC-CERT has been setup with the objective of creating a comprehensive framework that integrates world class security components and inbuilt threat intelligence for detection, prevention and incident response.
- Using the tools the team will correlate events that would help in generating a canvas of the attack surface and identify the vulnerabilities and possible exploits. The gathered intelligence assimilated with the knowledge of the open web would give the Computer Emergency Response Team(CERT) the ability prevent and predict attacks.
- NIC’s PAN-India connectivity and reach is one of its key strengths and this coupled with its enhanced ability to detect and prevent attacks would collectively upscale the Government’s ability to protect its data.
India will host 2017 edition of Bodhi Parva in New Delhi
India is hosting the 2017 edition of “Bodhi Parva: BIMSTEC Festival of Buddhist Heritage” in New Delhi as part of celebrations of 20th Anniversary of BIMSTEC.
- The festival is organized by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) along with Teamwork Arts.
- “Bodhi Parva: BIMSTEC Buddhist Heritage Festival” aims to look at the different aspects of Buddhism, in today’s context.
- BIMSTEC has a deep connect with Buddhism, which originated in South Asia and then travelled and rooted itself in South East Asia. Buddhism constitutes a bridge between South and South-East Asia.
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organization involving a group of countries in South Asia and South East Asia. The BIMSTEC comprises of seven countries, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
The main objective of BIMSTEC is technological and economical cooperation among South Asian and South East Asian countries along the coast of the Bay of Bengal. The headquarters of BIMSTEC is in Dhaka. |
Darjeeling to host five-day tourism festival
Darjeeling, the popular hill station is all set to host a five-day tourism festival from December 27 to attract people to the ‘Queen of Hills’
- The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), the State Tourism Department and the Information and Cultural Affairs Department are jointly organising the festival in Darjeeling to revive tourist interest in the hills
- The 104-day-long agitation and bandh, demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland, was called off on September 27.
India’s one and only ISO 9000certified home is in Chennai
Surana family in Chennai has acquired an ISO 9000 certification, the first home in India to do so.
- The eldest member of the family, the grandfather, has been named the ‘household head.’ Grandma is the ‘household representative’ and the mother is designated the ‘management representative.’
- The other members of the family, the father and the children are designated as the ‘permanent customers.’
- If you’re visiting the Suranas, you will most likely be termed ‘temporary customers’ and will be served a customer feedback form along with your cup of tea, wherein you can respond with the level of satisfaction with the hospitality and the food.
ISO 9000 is a set of international standards on quality management and quality assurance developed to help companies effectively document the quality system elements to be implemented to maintain an efficient quality system.
|
India’s first-ever mobile food testing laboratory launched
Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar launched country’s first-ever mobile food testing laboratory.
- Parrikar unveiled the vehicle, worth Rs 41 lakh, in presence of Goa Food and Drugs Administration minister Vishwajit Rane.
- The laboratory mounted on a bus will be travelling across the state checking food samples on the spot. This would be the first ever ‘Food Safety on Wheel’ vehicle in the entire country.
- It is entirely funded by the Centre, which will also bear the maintenance cost for five years, it will help in on-the-spot testing of food items and curb adulteration
West Bengal announces life insurance of Rs.5 lakh each for pilgrims
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee announced a life insurance of Rs.5 lakh each for pilgrims visiting the state for the upcoming Gangasagar fair, the second biggest pilgrimage fair after Kumbh.
- The premium in this regard will be borne entirely by the state government.
- Around five to six lakh pilgrims attend the Gangasagar fair on the occasion of Makar Sankranti at the confluence of the Ganges in Sagra Islands, South 24 Parganas district. It is scheduled for the second week of January.
ICAN receives Nobel Peace Prize
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) has received the Nobel Peace Prize.
- The leader of an Australian-founded group that received the Nobel Peace Prize has warned humanity is only “one impulsive tantrum” away from a nuclear catastrophe.
- ICAN had campaigned for a UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
- ICAN, a coalition of hundreds of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), is 10 years old and is based in Geneva, Switzerland.
- ICAN set about an alternative approach – to raise popular awareness of the issue and to pressure governments to open up a new treaty for signature earlier this year that would seek an outright ban on nuclear weapons.
- In July, after pressure from ICAN, 122 nations backed a UN treaty designed to ban and eventually eliminate all nuclear weapons. But none of the nine known nuclear powers in the world – including the UK and the US – endorsed it.
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons is a global civil society coalition working to promote adherence to and full implementation of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
|
In Saudi Arabia cinemas will be allowed from early 2018
Saudi Arabia government stated that public cinemas would be allowed in the conservative kingdom and the first cinemas were likely to open early next year.
- As the industry regulator, the General Commission for Audiovisual Media has started the process for licensing cinemas in the Kingdom.
- The first cinemas to open in March 2018.
Saudi Arabia
| |
Capital
|
Riyadh
|
Currency
|
Saudi Riyal
|
King
|
Salman
|
Iraq and Iran sign Kirkuk oil swap deal
Iraq has agreed to swap up to 60,000 barrels per day of crude produced from the northern Iraqi Kirkuk oil field for Iranian oil.
- The agreement signed by the two countries provides for Iran to deliver to Iraq’s southern ports, on the Gulf, “oil of the same characteristics and in the same quantities” as those it would receive from Kirkuk.
- Between 30,000 and 60,000 bpd of Kirkuk crude will be delivered by tanker trucks to the border area of Kermanshah, where Iran has a refinery.
- The pipeline could replace the existing export route from Kirkuk via Turkey and the Mediterranean by pipeline.
Iraq
|
Iran
| |
Capital
|
Baghdad
|
Tehran
|
Currency
|
Iraqi Dinar
|
Iranian Rial
|
Presidnet
|
Fuad Masum
|
Hassan Rouhani
|
Japan, US, South Korea to hold missile tracking drill amid North Korea crisis
The United States, Japan and South Korea will hold two days of missile tracking drills.
- North Korea has fired two missiles over Japan as it pursues nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles in defiance of U.N. sanctions and international condemnation.
- The exercises will be the sixth drill sharing information in tracking ballistic missiles among the three nations.
US
|
Japan
|
South Korea
| |
Capital
|
Washington D.C.
|
Tokyo
|
Seoul
|
Currency
|
US Dollar
|
Japanese Yen
|
South Korean won
|
President
|
Donald Trump
|
Shinzo Abe (PM)
|
Moon jae-in
|
Qatar signs $8 billion deal to buy 24 typhoon fighters from the UK
Qatar signed a multi-billion-dollar deal to buy 24 Typhoon fighters from Britain.
- The $8-billion deal was signed in Doha by Qatar’s Defence Minister Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah and his British counterpart, Gavin Williamson.
- Qatar is the ninth country to sign a deal for Typhoon jets.
Qatar
|
UK
| |
Capital
|
Doha
|
London
|
Currency
|
Qatari Rial
|
Pound Sterling
|
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
(Emir)
|
Theresa may
(PM)
| |
World’s largest automated container terminal opens in Shanghai
China started trial operations of the world’s biggest automated container terminal – the Shanghai Yangshan Deep Water Port – in Shanghai.
- Located at the south of Donghai Bridge, phase 4 of the Yangshan Port covers 2.23 million square metres and has a 2,350-metre shoreline.
- Once it enters full operation, the fourth phase of the Yangshan Port will initially be able to handle 4 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units).
World’s biggest floating solar plant goes online in China
China-based firm Three Gorges Group has started producing power from part of a 150-megawatt floating solar plant in east China, the largest of its kind in the world.
- The construction of the project started in July with an investment of about 1 billion yuan ($151 million).
- The entire facility is expected to come online by May 2018.
Note: In India, largest solar floating plant in the country has been completed at the Banasura Sagar reservoir in Wayanad, Kerala
|
RBI launches campaign against fraudsters promising money:
RBI has launched an SMS campaign and a missed-call helpline to warn people against scams promising prize money from the RBI.
- “Don’t pay fees or charges to get large sums in return. RBI/RBI Governor/Government never sends such email/SMS/call,” the central bank said in an SMS.
- It is also asking public to give a missed call to the helpline number, 8691960000.
Established on – April 1, 1935
Headquarters: Mumbai
Governor – Urjit Patel
|
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI)
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has notified the regulations for handling of grievances and complaints against Insolvency-related service providers.
- The regulations enable a stakeholder, namely, debtor, creditor, claimant, service provider, resolution applicant or any other person having an interest in an insolvency resolution, liquidation or bankruptcy transaction to file a grievance or a complaint against service provider.
- The service provider could be an insolvency professional agency, Insolvency professional, Insolvency professional entity or information utility.
- The regulations provide for an objective and transparent procedure for disposal of grievances and complaints by the IBBI.
- Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India was set up on 1st October 2016 under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Code). It is a unique regulator: regulates a profession as well as transactions.
- The IBBI has a ten-member board including a Chairman
27th Vyas Samman award to Mamta Kalia
Eminent Hindi writer Mamta Kalia will be honoured with literary award Vyas Samman for year 2017 for her novel “Dukkham Sukkham”. The author has earlier received “Yashpal Katha Samman” from Uttar Pradesh Hindi Sansthan, “Sahitya Bhushan Samman” and “Ram Manohar Lohia Samman”.
The Vyas Samman is given to a Hindi literary work published in the past 10 years.
|
This time, the World Book Fair is a green affair
The World Book Fair to be held from January 6 to 14 will have a dominant green theme.
- Theme: Environment and Climate Change.
- For a start, it will emphasise that Indian civilisation thought deeply about the environment thousands of years before climate change became a global concern.
India’s ‘traditional orientation towards the protection of all creation’ — be it humans, water, air, or forests — will be debated.
Uma Shankar Appointed RBI Executive Director
Uma Shankar, chief general manager (CGM) in charge of the Reserve Bank of India's financial inclusion and development department has taken over as executive director (ED) in the central bank.
- Shankar has been elevated after Meena Hemchandra the executive director in charge of the central bank's supervision department retired recently.
Pradeep Singh Kharola Takes Over as Air India CMD
Senior IAS officer Pradeep Singh Kharola took charge as the Chairman and Managing Director of Air India. Kharola assumed charge from Rajiv Bansal.
- He was the managing director of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd since February 2015.
Rahul Gandhi Elected Indian National Congress President
The Indian National Congress announced that Rahul Gandhi has been elected as its new President, taking over from his mother Sonia Gandhi.
- Rahul was declared the party President after no other candidate filed a nomination to contest the presidential elections.
Pioneer of DNA Fingerprinting Lalji Singh Passes Away
Lalji Singh, a pioneer of DNA fingerprinting technology in India and former Vice-Chancellor of Benares Hindu University, BHU (2011 to 2014), passed away at the age of 70.
- Lalji Singh and his team developed the indigenous probe that was first applied to settle paternity disputes in the late 1980s at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) Hyderabad.
Pioneering black journalist Simeon Booker dies at age 99
Simeon Booker, a trail-blazing African-American journalist and the first full-time black reporter at The Washington Post, died at the age of 99.
- Booker served for decades as the Washington bureau chief for the iconic African-American publications Jet, a weekly, and Ebony, a monthly.
- He is credited with bringing to national prominence the 1955 death of Emmett Till, the 14-year old African-American boy whose brutal murder in Mississippi became a galvanizing point for the nascent civil rights movement.
- Booker’s article included an open-casket picture of Till’s mangled face that shocked the nation.
Kathak exponent Dharamshi Shah dies at 98
Noted Kathak exponent Dharamshi Shah died in Bhavnagar at the age of 98.
Born on April 5, 1921, in Mandvi, Shah had set up Kalakshetra Dance and Music School in Bhavnagar.
- He was awarded the Gaurav Purashkar by the state government of Gujarat in 1989.
Veteran Journalist Sukharanjan Sengupta Passes Away
Veteran journalist Sukharanjan Sengupta died due to old age-related health problems. He was 85.
- Sengupta had worked for Bengali dailies Jugantar and Ananda Bazar Patrika in his long career spanning over six decades.
Nattuvangam exponent Seetharama Sharma Passes away
Noted singer and nattuvangam exponent Bhagavatula Seetharama Sharma passed away. He was 81.
- Seetharama Sharma developed a profound knowledge in all the three aspects of sangeetham — geetam, vadyam and nrityam.
- Noted carnatic vocalist T.M. Krishna is among his disciples. He served in Kalakshetra, dedicated himself to the institution and became an integral part of the majority of Rukmini Devi’s Naatya productions.
- His first public recognition came from the Dhananjayans Bharatakalanjali, Chennai, way back in the 1970s, and he was awarded the title ‘Sangeetagna’.
- Last year, Bharat Kalachar honoured him with a special commemorative and lifetime achievement award.
- He was also a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for ‘Naatya’.
Lionel Messi equals historic Gerd Muller goal record
Lionel Messi equalled Gerd Muller’s record 525 goals with a single club in Europe’s top five leagues as Barcelona won a 2-0 victory over 10-man Villarreal.
- Muller scored 525 goals in 572 appearances for Bayern Munich between 1965 and 1979, a record which had stood for almost 40 years.
- The Argentina player is already La Liga’s top scorer in history with 362 strikes.
Jitu, Heena win medals at Asian Airgun Championships
Pistol aces Jitu Rai and Heena Sidhu bagged a bronze each to continue India’s medal charge at the 10th Asian Championship 10m Rifle/Pistol in Wako City, Japan.
- Jitu Rai won an individual bronze in the men’s 10m Air Pistol.
- Heena Sidhu claimed an individual bronze in the women’s 10m Air Pistol.
Australia edge Argentina 2-1 to clinch win gold medal in HWL final
Defending champions Australia won over Argentina 2-1 to win the title in the Hockey World League (HWL) Final at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
- It was a fitting final given that the contest was between Olympic champions Argentina and the world champions.
