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1. Kashmir touched minimum temperature of minus 7 degree Celsius
The Meteorological Department said that the Kashmir
Valley has touched the minimum temperature of minus 7° Celsius in Srinagar for
the first time in 28 years. Several waterbodies, including the Dal Lake, were
covered in sheaths of ice. Srinagar’s minimum temperature, which was five
degrees below normal, plummeted to a record minus 7° Celsius for the first time
since December 7, 1990, when it was minus 8.8° Celsius. The day temperature
hovered around 8° Celsius. Meteorological Department: Established on: 1875
Type: Government agency Headquarters: New Delhi Ministers incharge: Harsh
Vardhan, Union Minister of Earth Sciences Agency executive: K.J. Ramesh,
Director General of Meteorology Parent department: Ministry of Earth Sciences.
2. Bahuda Rookery is developed as another Olive Ridley Nesting Site in Odisha
Odisha forest department has started preparing the
beach at the Bahuda river mouth in Ganjam district to lure the endangered
turtles to come over for mass nesting next year. The Bahuda rookery is located
around 20 km to the south of Rushikulya rookery coast, a major mass nesting
site of olive ridleys on the Indian coastline.
3. Lok Sabha passes Triple Talaq Bill amid opposition walkout
The Lok Sabha on December 27 passed The Muslim Women
(Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018. The opposition Congress and All
India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) staged a walkout before the
voting. Under the proposed law, giving instant triple talaq will be illegal and
void, and will attract a jail term of three years for the husband.
4. GHMC is awarded the Best Capital City in the Swachh Survekshan 2018 rankings
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC)
has been awarded Best Capital City in the Solid Waste Management in the Swachh
Survekshan 2018 rankings. Swachh Survekshan was launched by the Ministry of
Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) under Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban). The
Swachh Survekashan survey ranks cities on various sanitation parameters. The
GHMC was also at the 27th place among 4,041 cities. The GHMC said that as a
part of the Swachh Survekshan 2019, maintaining the timing of toilets, i.e.,
from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. and proper signage will be an important parameter. As a
part of this, the GHMC has requested the Hyderabad Metro Rail to ensure that
public toilets in all metro corridors are open from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m.
5. USTAAD: Railways develops AI-powered robot to check for faults in trains
The mechanical branch of Central Railway‘s Nagpur
division developed a new AI-powered robot named USTAAD (Undergear Surveillance
through Artificial Intelligence Assisted Droid) which examines parts of the
coach in real time with an HD camera and transmits them over WiFi. The new
Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered robot will click photos and record videos
of the train, under the gears and then transmits them over WiFi to engineers
for maintenance and repair. Since USTAAD can watch and examine areas which
cannot be seen and approached by humans usually, due to the narrow spaces
between under-gear parts, it will reduce chances of human error while examining
undergear equipment on Indian Railways trains. The special features of the robot
include HD (high-definition) camera that can be rotated in any direction as per
commands are given by the engineer and can capture video as well as still
photographs with zoom in or out facility.
6. NITI Aayog releases Second Delta Ranking of Aspirational Districts Programme
The ranking details the incremental progress
achieved by the districts during June to October this year across six key
development sectors. Virudhunagar district in Tamil Nadu has shown the most
improvement overall, followed by Nuapada district in Odisha, Siddarthnagar in
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar's Aurangabad and Koraput in Odisha. These districts have
championed the development narrative in fundamental parameters of social
progress. Meanwhile, Nagaland's Kiphire district, Jharkhand's Giridih, Chatra
in Jharkhand, Hailakandi in Assam, and Pakur in Jharkhand have shown least
improvement. The Aspirational District Programme was launched by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi in January this year with the aim to rapidly transform the
districts that have shown relatively lesser progress in key social areas.
♦ NITI Aayog CEO - Amitabh Kant.
7. L&T construction arm bagged orders worth Rs.2,357 crore
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) said that its
construction arm has bagged orders worth Rs.2,357 crore from APCRDA and MPJNM.
L&T’s water and effluent treatment and transportation infrastructure
business had secured an order worth Rs.1,281 crore from Andhra Pradesh Capital
Region Development Authority (APCRDA). The order is for activities including
investigation, design and construction of roads, bridges, storm water drains,
culverts, water supply systems, sewerage systems for the villages of Kurugalla,
Nidamarru in Zone 12A area at Amravati Capital City, Andhra Pradesh. The firm’s
water and effluent treatment business had also secured orders worth Rs.1,076
crore from the Madhya Pradesh Jal Nigam Maryadit (MPJNM). The order is for the
execution of multi village rural water supply schemes in Jabalpur, Narsinghpur,
Seoni and Damoh districts of Madhya Pradesh.
8. Historic Dharahara tower to be reconstructed
Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli laid the
foundation stone for the reconstruction of the historic Dharahara tower in the
heart of Kathmandu. The Dharahara tower was destroyed during the 2015
earthquake. A joint venture of Chinese company GIETC and a local firm has won
the contract to rebuild the 22-storeyed structure.
9. Rajesh Subramaniam is appointed as CEO of FedEx Express
FedEx Express, a U.S. multinational courier delivery
giant, has named Rajesh Subramaniam, an Indian-American, as the President and
Chief Executive Officer of the firm. He will assume his new role on January 1,
2019. He replaces David L Cunningham. Mr. Subramaniam currently holds the
executive vice- president, chief marketing and communications officer position
of FedEx Corporation. He is an IIT-Bombay graduate from Thiruvananthapuram and
has been with FedEx for more than 27 years. He has held various executive-level
positions in the company. He began his career in Memphis and subsequently moved
to Hong Kong where he oversaw marketing and customer service for the Asia
Pacific region.
10. Air Marshal Rajeev Sachdeva takes over as Deputy Chief of Integrated Defense Staff Operations
Defense Ministry appointed Air Marshal Rajeev
Sachdeva who had served in three out of four wings of Integrated Defense Staff
(IDS) headquarters as the Deputy Chief of Integrated Defense Staff
(Operations). Air Marshal Sachdeva was commissioned as an Indian Air Force
pilot in December 1981 and has logged over 7200 hours of transport and
instructional flying experience. Apart from being a Category ‘A’ flying
instructor, he has also held some of the prestigious appointments in Air Force,
Joint Services and National Technical Research Organization (NTRO). He has also
been an Air Force examiner and has also commanded a frontline transport
squadron, a transport base and the College of Defense Management.
11. Government to infuse Rs.28,615 crore into 7 PSBs
The government plans to infuse Rs.28,615 crore into
seven public sector banks (PSBs) through recapitalisation bonds by the end of
December 2018. The amount infused will help the banks meet the regulatory
capital requirement, and its disbursement might take place before December 31.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said that recapitalisation would enhance the
lending capacity of PSBs and help them exit the RBI’s Prompt Corrective Action
(PCA) framework. Earlier the government had announced an infusion of Rs.65,000
crore in PSBs in 2018-19, of which Rs.23,000 crore has already been disbursed,
while Rs.42,000 crore is remaining.
12. President Ram Nath Kovind gives assent to two Bills from Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh
The 'Himachal Pradesh Early Childhood Care and
Education Centers (Registration and Regulation) Bill 2017' aims to ensure
quality education to children by providing all basic facilities. The 'Tamil
Nadu Vanniyakula Kshatriya Public Charitable Trusts and Endowments (Protection
and Maintenance) Bill 2018' aims to create a board in order to maintain
and administer public charitable trusts and endowments, created by Vanniyar
community members.
13. Venkaiah Naidu conferred Champions of Change award to Manipur CM N Biren Singh
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh conferred the
‘Champions of Change’ award by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu in Delhi. He was
recognized for his leadership role in transforming the governance in the
north-eastern state. At a programme to identify the progress made in 115
‘aspirational’ districts, Manipur was chosen for its all-round development on
various parameters in all its ‘aspirational’ districts. Other such awardees
are: 1. Union Minister of State for Food Processing Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti,
2.Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Sudarshan and 3.Member of Parliament
Nishikant Dubey. The award selection jury was led by former Chief Justice of
India K G Balakrishna and former Supreme Court judge Sudha Mishra.
14. Madhya Pradeshs Divya Patidar Joshi crowned Mrs. India 2018 title in New Delhi
Divya Patidar Joshi from Madhya Pradesh was crowned
with Mrs. India 2018 title at the Mrs. India My Identity Beauty Pageant 2018
finale held in New Delhi. She defeated 24 promising contestants and won all the
rounds of Beauty with Brain contest along with Best Cat Walk title.
15. Study says Ganges River Dolphins dereases as the salinity increases
A recent study covering 100 km of rivers and
channels around the Sunderbans found that an increase in salinity in the water
system has resulted in a decrease in population of the Ganges River Dolphins in
the region. It also said that the national aquatic animal is no longer sighted
in the central and eastern parts of the archipelago. The species are available
only in the western part of Sunderbans, where the salinity is lower. Ganges
River Dolphins has been classified as endangered by the IUCN Red List. The
species was once found in tributaries of the Ganga in West Bengal. Researchers
and experts said the sighting of the dolphin has dipped over the years in the
534-km stretch from Farakka Barrage to Sunderbans.
16. Sitarist Manju Mehta Gets Tansen Samman
Noted sitar player Manju Mehta conferred with the
‘Tansen Samman’ for 2018 by the Madhya Pradesh government for her contribution
in the field of music. Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar presented the award
to Mehta, 74, at the inaugural ceremony of the Tansen Music Festival. The ‘Raja
Mansingh Tomar Honour’ was given to the Sankat Mochan Pratishthan in Varanasi
for 2017 and the Natrang Pratishthan of New Delhi for 2018.
17. Indian Oil, ONGC, NTPC most profitable PSUs in FY18
Indian Oil Corporation, Oil and Natural Gas
Corporation (ONGC) and NTPC emerged as the top three most profitable Public
Sector Undertakings (PSUs) in 2017-18. Coal India and Power Grid Corporation
occupied the fourth and fifth spot in the list of top 10 profit making CPSEs
(Central Public Sector Enterprises) in the 2017-18 fiscal. BSNL, Air India and
MTNL incurred the highest losses for the second consecutive year.
18. Chandrababu Naidu laid the foundation for Kadapa steel plant
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N.Chandrababu Naidu
laid the foundation stone for the Rayalaseema Steel Corporation Limited’s 3 MT
integrated steel plant in Kadapa district. The plant has been planned to
be completed in 24 months. The first phase of the Rs.18,000 crore project is
expected to create 5,000 direct jobs and the same number in the ancillary
industries giving a big impetus to industrialization. Another Rs.15,000 crore
would be invested in the second phase to enhance the capacity to 6 million
tonnes creating another 5,000 jobs. CM N.Chandrababu Naidu accused the BJP-led
NDA government of not fulfilling the promise of setting up the plant as part of
the Reorganisation Act. He said that the State government would not be cowed
down by such acts and would begin work within three months to show its real
intent.
19. Israel Parliament votes to dissolve government
Israel's Parliament, the Knesset, voted 102-2 to
dissolve the government, triggering early general elections for April 9, 2019.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu announced earlier this week his decision to
disband his coalition. Netanyahu would be contesting the polls amid allegations
of corruption against him and his wife.
20. Madhya Pradesh Declares Kuno as National Park
Madhya Pradesh State government has declared Kuno
wildlife sanctuary as a national park in compliance with the last condition
imposed by a Supreme Court-appointed committee for the much awaited
‘translocation of Asiatic lions from Gir in Gujarat.’ The move is expected to
pave way for translocation of lions from Gir in Gujarat to Kuno.
21. Dwijing Festival Begins in Assam
In Assam, the third Dwijing Festival begun on the
bank of Aye river at Chirang district. Around 15 lakh tourists will participate
in the festival. Assam PHE minister Rihon Daimary inaugurated the festival in
presence of several dignitaries. Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal will attend
the event. Adventure sports, food mart, cultural events, traditional games are
being organized in the 12-day long event.
22. Four day 12th Annual ISDSI Conference commenced in SPJIMR, Mumbai
The four day long 12th Annual Indian Subcontinent
Decision Sciences Institute (ISDSI) conference commenced in SPJIMR, Mumbai. The
theme of this international conference is “Data-Driven Decision Making in the
Digital Age”. The main objective of this conference is to provide a platform
for academicians, researchers and practitioners to: 1. Disseminate research,
providing insights into the challenges, opportunities, emerging strategies and
analytical tools in the domain of decision making; 2.Present case studies on
the application of tools and techniques; 3. Explore cutting-edge ideas,
results, and share experiences.
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