Top Headlines : Daily current Affairs - 04-December-2018

Hello Aspirants, we provide 04th December 2018, important Current Affairs which have unique updates of all daily events from various newspapers and Government official websites.

Our complete current affairs helps you to get more marks in Banking, Insurance, SSC, Railways, UPSC,CLAT  and  all State Exams.-Happy Learning!

National News

1. ‘SHOUT’ Feature Introduced In The ‘112 India’ Mobile App

• Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced a pan-India single-number emergency mobile app ‘112 India’ and stated that it will have a special women safety feature ‘SHOUT’ to get immediate assistance from police and volunteers. It is connected to the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS).

• Under the ERSS project, people will be able to receive immediate assistance from police, health and fire departments as well as from other agencies using a pan-India single emergency number 112.

2. Jammu & Kashmir Government Launches AB-PMJAY Scheme

• Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik launched the ambitious “Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)” scheme which would benefit over 31 lakh residents in the state.

• The governor distributed golden cards among 10 eligible beneficiaries for availing the annual health cover facility, marking the launch of the scheme in the state.

3. Nagaland Becomes First North-Eastern State To Launch Single Emergency Number ‘112’

• Nagaland became the first state in the Northeast and second in the country, after Himachal Pradesh, to launch a pan-India single-number (112) emergency mobile application which will have a special women safety feature for immediate assistance from police and volunteers.

• Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh stated that a ‘SHOUT’ feature has been made available exclusively for women in the ‘112 India’ mobile app which is connected to the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS). The launch coincided with the state’s formation day and the inaugural day of the 2018 edition of the Hornbill Festival.

·      Takeaways

Nagaland CM: Neiphiu Rio, Governor: PB Acharya.

4. Common Mobility Card launched in Delhi

• Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot launched the Common Mobility Card which can be used by commuters to travel aboard both Delhi metro trains and State-run buses. The ONE card, which is essentially the rebranded Delhi Metro smart card with the tagline ‘One Delhi. One Ride’ with the logos of all three transport operators in the city, the Delhi Metro, the Delhi Transport Corporation and the Delhi government.

National Common Mobility Card (NCMC):

♦ NCMC is an interoperable transport card conceived by the Ministry of Urban Development of the Government of India.

♦ The Urban Development Ministry brought in the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) with the task of management, clearing, and settlement of payments, simulating cards and terminals and maintenance of the network.

♦ Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) is given the responsibility of developing standards and hardware for the card usage and the related ecosystems.

5. India, UAE to ink Mou for project in third countries

• India & UAE for the first time will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to set up projects in third countries beginning with Ethiopia during Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj's ongoing visit to the Gulf country.

• This will be India's second third-country project in Africa after Delhi and Tokyo during their October annual summit decided to set up a hospital in Kenya.

• External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will also inaugurate a Gandhi-Zayed Digital Museum in Abu Dhabi to mark the celebrations of 150 years of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth and centenary celebrations of the birth of Shaikh Zayed, founder of the modern UAE.

6. IPL auction to be held in jaipur on December 18

• The player auction for the 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL) season will take place on December 18 in Jaipur.

• As many as 70 players including 20 overseas cricketers will be up for grabs for the eight franchises, who are left with a total purse of ₹145.25 crore.

·      Yuvraj Singh was released by KXIP while Delhi Daredevils let go of Gautam Gambhir.

7. Punjab cabinet approves international airport near Ludhiana

• The Punjab Cabinet approved the setting up of a new international civil terminal at Indian Air Force (IAF) Station, Halwara 32 kms from Ludhiana.

• The terminal will be jointly developed by the state government and Airports Authority of India (AAI). While AAI would have majority stake of 51 per cent, the Punjab Government, through the Greater Ludhiana Development Authority (GLADA), will have 49 per cent stake in the project.

8. NGT instructed Delhi govt. to pay fine of Rs.25 crore

• The National Green Tribunal (NGT) instructed the Delhi government to deposit an environmental compensation of Rs.25 crore with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for failing to curb air pollution in the Capital.

• A Bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said in case the State government failed to comply with the orders, a sum of Rs.10 crore per month will be levied.

• The tribunal further, said that a performance guarantee of Rs.25 crore has to be provided by the State government and in case of non-compliance of orders, the amount will be forfeited. The Chief Secretary has been directed to file a compliance affidavit by March 31, 2019.

9. Government holds Workshop on Developing Ganga Museum in New Delhi

• An international workshop on “Developing a Ganga Museum Concept: Exchanging Experiences and Ideas between India and Europe” was held in New Delhi.

• The workshop was organized by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) along with GIZ India, as a part of Indo German Development Cooperation. Experts from India and the European Union participated.

• NMCG is planning to set up a Ganga Exhibition and a Ganga Museum for public outreach, portraying river Ganga’s history and mythology, its importance for the livelihood of a huge population, and efforts for Ganga Rejuvenation.

10. Nagaland signs MoU with Estonian academy on E-governance

• Nagaland government signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with e-Governance Academy of Estonia to provide advisory and technical knowledge for setting up of e-Governance Academy of Nagaland (e-GAN).

• The MoU is aimed at strengthening bilateral technical cooperation in the fields of information technology and e-governance.

International News

1. Qatar To Leave OPEC From January 2019

• Qatar has announced its decision to leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) from January 2019 and focus more on the production of natural gas. The announcement was made by Qatar’s new energy minister, Saad al-Kaabi. 

• Qatar is the world’s largest exporter of LPG. Qatar also wants to raise its oil production from 4.8 million barrels of oil equivalent a day to 6.5 million barrels.

·      Takeaways

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a permanent, intergovernmental Organization, created at the Baghdad Conference on September 10–14, 1960, by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo is the Secretary General of OPEC.

OPEC headquarters in Vienna, Capital of Austria.

2. UAE passport tops the Global Passport Power Rank 2018

• As per the ratings released by Passport Index, the United Arab Emirates has topped the Global Passport Power Rank 2018, emerging as the country with the most powerful passport in world.

• UAE passport holders can now fly to 113 countries without a visa, and 54 others with a visa-on-arrival.

• Singapore and Germany ranks second with 166 countries.

• India ranked 66th in Global Passport Power Rank 2018.

Aggrements

1. ADB, Centre Sign $85 million Loan to Support Odisha Skill Development Project 

• The Centre and Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed an 85 million dollar loan to improve skill development eco-system in Odisha. An advanced skill training center, the World Skill Center (WSC) will also be established in Bhubaneswar with the help of a loan.

• The Odisha Skill Development Project agreement was signed by Additional Secretary in the Finance Ministry Sameer Kumar Khare and Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission Kenichi Yokoyama in New Delhi.

·      Takeaways

Takeshi Watanabe was ADB’s first President.

Headquarters of ADB is in Manila, Philippines.

Takehiko Nakao is a Japanese civil servant who was elected the ninth president of the Asian Development Bank in 2013.

Banking & Business Economy News

1. ECB Launched TIPS Instant Payment System

• The European Central Bank launched a new system aimed at letting banks settle payments instantly across Europe, helping them to compete with PayPal and other global tech giants.

• Developed in just over a year, the ECB’s TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) system will let people and companies in Europe transfer euros to each other within seconds and regardless of the opening hours of their local bank. TIPS is open only to providers that have an account at a central bank connected to the euro zone’s TARGET 2 network, meaning it is effectively restricted to European Union banks.

2. ‘PAiSA’ Launched Under Day-NULM

•  “PAiSA – Portal for Affordable Credit and Interest Subvention Access”, a centralized electronic platform for processing interest subvention on bank loans to beneficiaries under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) was launched by Sh. Durga Shankar Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

• The web platform has been designed and developed by Allahabad Bank which is the Nodal bank. All 35 states / UTs & all scheduled commercial banks, RRBs, and Cooperative Banks are expected to be on board the PAiSA portal soon.

Awards & Recognitions

1. Delhi Minister Imran Hussain Gets PETA ‘Hero to Animals’ Award

• Delhi Minister of Food Supplies, Environment and Forest and Elections Imran Hussain was awarded by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)-India for banning the Chinese Manjha, or the glass-coated kite strings, across Delhi.

• The award, named ‘Hero to Animals,’ was also given to three other individuals and companies that have pushed animal rights forward. Other winners of Hero to Animals Award 2018

• Purvi Doshi received a Compassionate Designer Award.
• Corkiza received an Innovative Fashion Award.
• Nutriva received an Innovation in Food Award.

Appointments & Resignation

1. AN Jha Appointed New Finance Secretary

• Ajay Narayan Jha, the Secretary of Department of Expenditure, has been appointed as new Finance Secretary to succeed Hasmukh Adhia who retired on November 30.

• Fifty-nine-year old Jha is a 1982-batch IAS officer of Manipur Tripura cadre. An alumnus of St Stephens College, he passed with first class in Graduation and Post Graduation in History.

2. Pawan Singh First Indian To Be Elected In ISSF’s Judges Committee

• Pawan Singh has become the first Indian to be elected one of seven member’s of the Judges Committee of the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF). Mr. Singh also holds the post of the Joint Secretary General of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).

• Mr. Singh got elected onto the seven members’ Judges Committee for which 22 candidates from all over the world were in the fray. Members of the administrative council of ISSF voted to select the committee during the elections held at Munich. The ISSF elections take place every four years.

3. Yes Bank Appoints Ex-IRDAI Chief Vijayan As Additional Director

•  Private sector lender Yes Bank Ltd appointed former IRDAI chief T.S. Vijayan as an additional director (Independent) for five years with immediate effect. He is already a key member of the search and selection committee (S&SC) set up to identify a suitable successor for CEO Rana Kapoor.

• Vijayan’s appointment would be subject to the approval of Yes Bank shareholders general meeting of the bank. Vijayan has also served as the Chairman of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).

4. Jon Ridgeon Appointed CEO of IAAF

• The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) announced the appointment of Jon Ridgeon as its new CEO following approval by the IAAF Council on the first day of its 215th Council Meeting in Monaco. Ridgeon will take up the new role in March 2019.

·      Takeaways

International Association of Athletics Federations Headquarters in Monaco.

Environment Sci-Tech Researches

1. First manned Soyuz mission to ISS was launched successfully

• Soyuz rocket carrying Russian, American and Canadian astronauts took off from Kazakhstan and reached orbit on 3rd December in the first manned mission.

•  Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, Anne McClain of NASA and David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency were launched off for a six-and-a-half month mission on the International Space Station (ISS).  After the rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Russian space agency Roscomos announced that the capsule was successfully launched into orbit.

Sports

1. Luka Modric Wins Ballon d’Or 2018

• Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder Luka Modric won Ballon d’Or 2018 in Paris. In the process, he broke the decade-long duopoly over the award held by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The last player to win the award outside of Ronaldo and Messi was Brazilian great Kaka in 2007.

• The 33-year old Croatian was awarded the FIFA’s World Cup 2018 MVP, UEFA’s Player of the Year 2018, Best FIFA Footballer of the Year and the number one player by International Federation of Football History and Statistics.

2. Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik Win Gold At Wrestling Nationals

• Indian star wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik successfully emerged champions in the 57 kg and 62 kg title respectively in the Tata Motors Senior Women’s National Championship.

• Vinesh Phogat bagged her sixth National title. She had earlier won five Nationals in a row from 2012 to 2016. Sakshi put up a confident show to win the title in the 62 kg without losing a single point. The event was hosted by Uttar Pradesh.

3. Ullas Narayan Wins India’s 1st International Medal in Ultra Running

• Ullas Narayan became the first ever Indian individual medal winner in an international ultra running event by clinching a bronze in the 2018 International Association of Ultra Running (IAU) 24 Hour Asia & Oceania Championships in Taipei.

• Narayan bagged the third position, completing 250 km, behind two Japanese runners Yoshihiko Ishikawa (253 km) and Nobuyuki Takahashi (252 km). Japan won the team event gold with a distance of 756 km and Australia (684 km) got the silver.

Important Days

1. Indian Navy Day: 4 December

• Navy Day is being celebrated in India on 4th December. The day is celebrated in honour of the maritime force’s role during the war with Pakistan in 1971 when Indian warships attacked Karachi port and successfully hurt Pakistani operations in the western coast.

• The Day is also celebrated to highlight the role the Navy plays in securing the country’s marine borders during peacetime and carrying out humanitarian missions. As per the recent Data, since 2008, 70 Indian naval warships have been deployed, which safely escorted over 3440 ships with over 25,000 mariners on board. 

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