Daily Current affairs - December 4th, 2017 for all competitive exams
The 46th Indian Navy day is observed on 4th December 2017.
- On December 4 every year celebrate achievements and role of the naval force to the country.
- During the India-Pakistan war of 1971, the Indian Navy played a significant role in the bombing of the Karachi harbor and sank Pakistan Naval Ship PNS Ghazi.
- The Navy Day celebrations not only display the nation’s technological progress but also the maritime achievements of India.
Chief of the Naval Staff
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Sunil Lanba
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Vice Admiral of the Naval Staff
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Ajit Kumar
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1st International exhibition and Conference on AYUSH & Wellness sector begin in New Delhi
The first International exhibition and Conference on AYUSH and Wellness sector- AROGYA 2017 begin in New Delhi.
- The four day event will be inaugurated by Ayush Minister Shripad Yesso Naik.
- The objective of the event is to showcase the strength and scientific validation of Indian System of Medicine in the global context.
- It will also facilitate International promotion, development and recognition of Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and Homoeopathy.
Theme of the Conference
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Enhancing the global potential of Ayush
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Bill proposes death penalty for unruly metro commuters
The Ministry of Urban Development has proposed a bill that provides for a life sentence or a death penalty for “any act of sabotage with the intent to cause death” on metro across India.
- The Metro Rail Bill 2017 further provides a fine of Rs.5,000 for drunk commuters and a four-year jail term for carrying guns inside the metro premises.
- The bill also proposes stiff fines for staffers, who could be fined Rs 10,000 for general offences and Rs 30,000 and jail term of up to two years if their actions endanger passengers.
World’s first IT campus for differently-abled in Hyderabad
On the eve of World Disability Day, the Telangana State government has entered into an agreement with Vindhya E-Infomedia Private Limited to set up the IT campus which will focus on creating employment exclusively for PWDs.
- With this Hyderabad is all set to be a home for world’s first Information Technology campus for persons with disabilities (PWDs).
- The campus which will cater to various clients both domestic and international is aimed to provide training and employment for 2,000 people in the next five years.
A.P. to become first to adopt blockchain in all depts.: official
Andhra Pradesh will be the first State to use blockchain technology digitising workflow applications in a smart way in all the departments and tackling the threat of hacking and other cyber crimes by December, 2019.
- Under the aegis of AP Technology and Electronics and IT Agency (APEITA), an autonomous society formed by the government to attract investments in IT and electronics, would hold Global Fintech (financial technology) Challenge by instituting an award of $1 million to the startup which comes out with the best solution to problems faced due to disruptive technologies.
- Blockchain technology is like the internet in that it has a built-in robustness. By storing blocks of information that are identical across its network, the blockchain cannot be controlled by any single entity; has no single point of failure.
Kerala government considering Green habitat
The Kerala government is considering promoting a ‘green habitat’ concept giving thrust to eco-friendly and reusable building materials, natural water storage and solid waste management.
- The objective of the concept is to introduce maximum eco-friendly and reusable materials in the construction.
- The buildings, under the concept, are planned to be designed in such a way that natural sunlight and wind would be used to maximum and the usage of electricity reduces to the minimum.
- A rainwater harvesting or natural water storage system would be a sure feature of such ‘green’ buildings, where even kitchen and drainage water would be recycled and reused for other household purposes.
Kerala Bamboo Fest
The 14th edition of the Kerala Bamboo Fest is back with its unique collection of hand-crafted bamboo products.
- Artisans, institutions and entrepreneurs from all over the country will take part.
The first phase of Chabahar port opens, to boost trade between India and Iran
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani inaugurates the first phase of the Chabahar port, opening up a new strategic transit route between Iran, India and Afghanistan, bypassing Pakistan.
- The first phase of the Chabahar port project is known as the Shahid Beheshti port and it was inaugurated by Rouhani.
- The port is likely to ramp up trade between India, Afghanistan and Iran in the wake of Pakistan denying transit access to New Delhi for trade with the two countries.
- India has been closely working with Afghanistan to create an alternative, reliable access routes, bypassing Pakistan.
- Chabahar Port is a seaport in Chabahar located in southeastern Iran, on the Gulf of Oman. It serves as Iran's only oceanic port, and consists of two separate ports named Shahid Kalantari and Shahid Beheshti, each of which have five berths.
Iran
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Capital
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Tehran
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Currency
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Iranian Rial
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Prime Minister
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Hassan Rouhani
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US, South Korea begin largest-ever joint air drill
The US and South Korea to kick off their largest-ever joint air exercise after Pyongyang fired its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile.
- The annual US-South Korean drill, called Vigilant Ace, will run until this week end, with six F-22 Raptor stealth fighters to be deployed among the more than 230 aircraft taking part.
- Around 12,000 US service members, including from the Marines and Navy, are joining South Korean troops.
South Korea
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USA
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Capital
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Seoul
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Washington, D.C.
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Currency
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South Korean Won
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United States Dollar
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President
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Moon Jae-in
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Donald Trump
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Bangladesh and Myanmar signed Pact on Rohingya
Bangladesh and Myanmar recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement to begin the repatriation of more than 6,20,000 Rohingya refugees who have fled to Bangladesh in the past few months.
- A joint working group including officials from Bangladesh, Myanmar and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) will be set up in three weeks, and Myanmar would begin to repatriate the refugees within two months, by January 23, 2018.
- Talks between Bangladesh and Myanmar appear to have been guided not by international agencies, but by China. China had announced that it favoured a “three-step” solution, comprising a ceasefire in Rakhine, a bilateral repatriation deal for the Rohingya to Myanmar and long-term solutions including the economic development of the Rohingya areas.
- Beijing has deep interests in Rakhine, especially in the Kyaukpyu Port, with oil and energy pipelines to Yunnan province forming part of a $10 billion economic zone in its Belt and Road Initiative.
International Conference on Climate Change Begins in Nepal
Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari has inaugurated an international conference to draw attention towards the adverse effects of global warming in the Hindu Kush mountain range.
- The conference 'Resilient Hindu Kush Himalaya: Developing Solutions towards a Sustainable Future for Asia' is being organized by Nepal's Ministry for Environment in collaboration with International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).
- The four-day conference is attended by more than 300 experts from different countries of Asia including India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Myanmar. V K Saraswat, member of India's Neeti foundation is leading the Indian delegation in the conference.
Nepal
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Capital
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Khatmandu
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Currency
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Nepalese Rupee
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President
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Bidya Devi Bhandari
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Prime Minister
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Sher Bahadur Deuba
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Venezuela launched its own ‘Petro’ cryptocurrency
Venezuelan has launched its own cryptocurrency, called the “Petro,” which will be backed by the country’s vast natural resource reserves. The country has also approved the creation of a Blockchain Base observatory to oversee the development and rollout of the new cryptocurrency.
- OPEC member Venezuela boasts the largest proven reserves of crude oil in the world, but has struggled against the plunge in oil prices which began in 2014.
- The purpose of Petro will be to advance the country’s monetary sovereignty, to carry out financial transactions and to defeat the financial blockade against the country.
- With the new crypto currency, Venezuela hopes it can overcome the economic blockade which the U.S. has put on the country. The blockade has caused the country’s national currency, the Bolivar, to lose around 57% of its value in the last four weeks.
Venezuela
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Capital
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Caracus
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Currency
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Venezuelan BolÃvar
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President
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Nicolás Maduro
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China launches land exploration satellite
China launched a land exploration-satellite into a preset orbit, designed for remote sensing exploration of land resources.
- The satellite took launch on a Long March-2D rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centrein China’s northern Gobi Desert.
- The launch was the 257th mission of the Long March rocket series.
- The satellite is mainly used for remote sensing exploration of land resources.
South Korea launches special ‘decapitation unit’ against North Korea
The South Korean military has launched a special ‘decapitation unit’ as part of its ‘Beheading Operation’ that aims to target the North Korean leadership in case of a conflict.
- The unit includes 1,000 soldiers belonging to the army’s Special Forces command.
- This comes amid tensions on the Korean Peninsula over North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear programme.
New tool to stop hacking
Scientists have developed a new anti-hacker tool, called High-fidelity Adaptive Deception & Emulation System (HADES), which rather than blocking an intruder, deploys an alternative reality — feeding hacker with false data.
- HADES has been developed by researchers at Sandia National Laboratories in the U.S. “Simply kicking a hacker out is next to useless.
- Rather than being summarily removed from a data source, a discovered hacker is led unobtrusively into HADES, where cloned virtual hard drives, memory and data sets create a simulation very much like the reality.
Paytm Payments Bank Unveils Paytm FASTag Across India
Paytm Payments Bank rolled out Paytm FASTag to enable electronic toll fee collection on highways across the country, in line with the government's move to make FASTag mandatory on every new vehicle sold from December 1.
- The Paytm FASTag - which is a simple and reusable tag based on radio-frequency identification technology (RFID) that can be placed on a vehicle's windscreen.
Infosys appoints Salil S Parekh as new CEO and managing director
Infosys, India IT services company, named Salil S Parekh as chief executive.
- The IIT-Bombay graduate and Cornell University alumnus and Capgemini executive is the new Infosys CEO and MD.
- UB Pravin Rao who was serving as the interim CEO has been re-designated as a chief operating officer from January 2.
HDFC Bank’s Aditya Puri Only Indian on Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year Top 20 List
Aditya Puri, the Managing Director of HDFC Bank, is the only Indian on Fortune’s ‘Businessperson of the Year’ list. The Businessperson of the Year list is an annual ranking of world’s top 20 heads of companies.
- At the 18th position, Aditya Puri is the only head of an Indian company on the list.
Top 3 Businesspersons in the list are-
1. Nvidia’s Mr. Jensen Huang,
2. Global heavyweight's Mr. Jamie Dimon,
3. Salesforce's Mr. Marc Benioff,
Virat Kohli surpasses Brian Lara for most double centuries as captain
Virat Kohli overtook West Indies great Brian Lara, who held the record previously with five double tons in Tests.
- With a sixth double hundred, Kohli has also tied Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag for the most 200-plus scores for India in Tests.
- Kohli became the 11th Indian batsman to achieve the milestone and the fourth fastest in terms of innings.
- Kohli is the first Indian captain to complete 1,000 runs in a calendar year twice. With 1009 runs (average – 77.61) in ten Tests in 2017
- Last year, he had totalled 1215 runs at an average of 75.93 in 12 Tests. Sachin Tendulkar in 1997 and Rahul Dravid in 2006.
Prithvi Shaw Named India's Captain for 2018 U-19 World Cup
Mumbai's 18-year-old batsman Prithvi Shaw has been named the captain of the Indian Under-19 team for the 2018 U-19 World Cup
- The tournament is scheduled to be held in New Zealand starting January 13, 2018.
India’s Deepika bags bronze at Indoor Archery World Cup
Indian archer Deepika Kumari defeated Sayana Tsyrempilova of Russia 7-3 in the women’s recurve bronze play-off to win India’s solitary medal at the Indoor Archery World Cup in Bangkok.
Korean second seed Kim Surin shattered the former world number one’s gold medal dream with a thrilling 6-5 win in the shoot-off and Deepika had to settle for third place.
