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DECEMBER 2018

CURRENT AFFAIR

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Important Days

Date Day Extra Info 1 December World AIDS Day Theme 2018: Know Your Status 2 December International Day for the

Abolition of Slavery

2 December World Computer Literacy Day 3 December International Day of Persons with

Disabilities Theme 2018: Empowering persons with disabilities and ensuring inclusiveness and equality

4 December Indian Navy Day Theme 2018: Indian Navy, Mission- deployed and Combat-ready

5 December World Soil Day Theme 2018: Be the Solution to Soil Pollution 5 December International Volunteer Day Theme 2018: Volunteers build Resilient

Communities 7 December International Civil Aviation Day Theme 2018: Working Together to Ensure

No Country is Left behind 7 December Indian Armed Force Flag Day 9 December International Anti-Corruption Day Theme 2018: Together, We Are United

Against Corruption 10 December Human Rights Day Theme 2018: Stand Up For Human Rights 11 December International Mountain Day Theme 2018: #Mountains Matter 12 December Universal Health Coverage Day Theme 2018: Unite for Universal Health Coverage:

Now is the Time for Collective Action 12 December International Day of Neutrality 14 December National Energy Conversation Day 16 December Vijay Diwas 18 December International Migrants Day Theme 2018: Migration with Dignity 18 December National Minority Rights Day 20 December International Human

Solidarity Day

22 December National Mathematics Day The day is observed to mark the birth anniversary of famed Indian Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan.

23 December Kisan Diwas/Farmers Day 24 December National Consumer Day Theme 2018: Timely Disposal of Consumer

Complaints 25 December Good Governance Day The day is observed to mark the birth anniversary of

former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee

MOU/Agreement Countries Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it has entered into an arrangement with the World Bank to put in

place a single framework that will make co-financed projects more efficient. India has signed an agreement with Iran to pay for crude oil it imports from the Persian Gulf nation

in rupees. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed following the US letting India and seven other nations to keep buying Iranian oil despite sanctions were reimposed on the Islamic state on November 5.

Two Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) have been signed between Myanmar and India during President Kovind’s visit, one in the area of judicial training and another on science and technology cooperation.

MOU Industry/States/Others Amazon’s Indian arm signed an MoU with the Federation of Indian Micro, Small and Medium

Enterprises (FISME) to support sellers in the segment under which the e-commerce major would provide the platform and logistics, while FISME would provide support in the area of policy and regulations.

The Uttar Pradesh and Nepal governments will soon sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to declare Ayodhya and Janakpur as twin cities. Adityanath also agreed to visit the Himalayan nation on December 12 to participate in the festivities of Lord Ram and Sita that are held every year.

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The Economic Development Board (EDB), the investment promotion arm of the Kingdom of Bahrain signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Maharashtra Government to provide a framework for Co- operation between the two authorities to promote FinTech in their respective markets.

Appointments and Resignations Name Post

Atul Sahai New India Assurance CMD Shamila Batohi head of South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority

Dr. Krishnamurthy Subramanian Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Arundhati Bhattacharya SWIFT India Chairman

Harsh Vardhan Shringla India’s Ambassador to The US

Arti Chhabra Srivastava Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) in SEBI

Shaktikanta Das RBI Governor

K Chandrasekhar Rao Chief Minister of Telangana

Zoramthanga Mizoram CM

Kamal Nath Madhya Pradesh CM

Ashok Gehlot Rajasthan CM

BP Singh president of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Society

Brahm Dutt Yes bank Interim Chairman

Raninder Singh Vice-president of the International Shooting Sport Federation

U C Dhyani head of the three-member committee to oversee rejuvenation work of the Ganga river by NGT

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Mexico President

Ajay Narayan Jha Finance Secretary AS Rajeev MD & CEO of Bank of Maharashtra

Jon Ridgeon CEO of The International Association of Athletics Federations Bhupesh Baghel Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh

Ranil Wickremesinghe Prime Minister of Sri Lanka M Nageswara Rao Additional Director CBI

Madhavi Divan Additional Solicitor General

Sandip Somany Ficci President

P.V. Bharathi MD&CEO Corporation Bank

Rajeev Mehta President Of South Asian Fencing Federation ( SAFF ) Mohinder Pratap Singh Ambassador of India to Mongolia

Riva Ganguly Das High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh

C A Kuttappa India’s chief boxing coach

Patrick Shanahan Acting Secretary of Defense, USA

Ramphal Pawar Director of National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB)

Yami Gautam goodwill leader of Super Sniffers campaign

Pranab Kumar Das Chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC)

Awards and Recognitions India’s National Academy of Letters, Sahitya Akademi has announced the names of prestigious annual

Sahitya Akademi Awards for litterateurs 2018 in 24 languages. 7 Books of Poetry, 6 of Short Stories, 3 of Literary Criticism and 2 of Essays have won this year’s Sahitya Akademi Awards 2018.

Four Indian-origin women have been named by Forbes among America’s top 50 female technology moguls, a list titled ‘America’s Top 50 Women in Tech 2018’ that includes IBM CEO Ginni Rometty and Netflix executive Anne Aaron.

The Railways has won 17 awards at the ‘National Energy Conservation awards 2018’, held in New Delhi. This is the highest number of awards bagged by a single organisation.

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Award Name Person/Institution Extra Knowledge Sahitya Akademi’s Bhasha Samman for South (2017)

Centenarian lexicographer G. Venkatasubbaiah

Glinka World Soil Prize 2018 Rattan Lal Awarded at the Rome headquarters of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for his outstanding contribution to sustainable soil management.

2018 Gleitsman Award Malala Yousafzai

‘Arets Stjerneskudd’ rising talent of the year by the Norwegian Consulate General

Actress Janhvi Kapoor

Miss World 2018 Vanessa Ponce de Leon 1st Mexican queen Mister Supranational title Prathamesh Maulingkar(Goa)

Steel Users Federation of India (SUFI) Lifetime Achievement Award

Ratan N. Tata

Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Coach of the Year Award

Sascha Bajin coach of the world number five Naomi Osaka

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) award

Gujarat for women’s leadership with low cost and sustainable technology to tackle storms

‘Meethoileima’ Title Mary Kom By Manipur government

‘Breakthrough Table Tennis Star’ award

Manika Batra

Krishi Karman award in the rice category

Jharkhand

Prime Minister’s Trophy for the ‘Best Performing Integrated Steel Plant’

Tata Steel Limited

National Bravery Award Situ Malik

Shooting’s Highest Honour By ISSF Abhinav Bindra

Greg Norman Medal Minjee Lee first woman to win Greg Norman Medal as the best Australian golfer

Ballon d’Or 2018 Luka Modric

Hero to Animals Award Delhi Minister Imran Hussain For Ban On Chinese Manjha

Turner Prize for 2018 Charlotte Prodger Glasgow-based British artist

Jnanpith Award 2018 English author Amitav Ghosh

‘Sangeet Mahasamman’ award Shaan and Arijit Singh Constituted by the West Bengal government at the inaugural session of the Bengal music and folk culture festival in Kolkata.

UN Human Rights Prize for 2018 Late Asma Jahangir

PETA India’s 2018 Person of the Year

Sonam Kapoor

Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Elisa Gray from Philippines

Miss India Worldwide 2018 Shree Saini from USA

French Knight of the National Order of Merit

Producer Ashok Amritraj

National Systems Gold Medal by the Systems Society of India (SSI)

ISRO Chairman K.Sivan

Skoch Golden Jubilee Challenger Award

Suresh Prabhu

Tansen Samman(By MP govt) Sitarist Manju Mehta

Senco Gold & Diamonds, Swarna Samman award

Mithali Raj

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‘Champions of Change’ award Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh

‘Top Debater In The World’ Title Aadi Sai Vijaykaran Won the Junior Debate Championship at the World Scholar’s Cup held at Yale University, the USA. The theme for the cup was ‘An Entangled World: diplomacy, human relationships, the science of memory, and literature, art’.

Mrs. India 2018 Title Madhya Pradesh’s Divya Patidar Joshi

Digital Transformation Hackathon Mahum Siddiqi For designing a device to detect the actual pain level of a patient during a diagnosis.

America’s most admired man Barack Obama

America’s most admired woman Michelle Obama

Conference and Summits

Summit Place Extra Knowledge

Startup India centre capital summit Goa Theme: Mobilizing Global Capital for Innovation in India. Organised by The commerce and industry ministry.

The 18th All India Annual Conference of the Heads of Science Centre’s and Museums

Itanagar

conference on ‘Sustainable Water Management’ Mohali, Punjab

conference on “Sexual Exploitation of Children in Digital Era”

Kolkata

Asia Pacific Summit-2018 Kathmandu

ASEAN – India Business Summit (AIBS) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The India Health Summit New Delhi organized by the Confederation Of Indian Industry

Global Agriculture & Food Summit 2018 Held Jharkhand

80th Session of the three-day Policy Commission of the World Customs Organisation

Mumbai

International conference on bears Agra

1st India-ASEAN InnoTech Summit New Delhi

India Water Impact Summit-2018 New Delhi

WHO Global Forum on Medical Device Visakhapatnam

15th Global SME Business Summit New Delhi

12th Annual Indian Subcontinent Decision Sciences S. P. Jain Institute of Theme: Data-Driven Decision

Institute (ISDSI) Conference Management and Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai

Making in the Digital Age.

12th Global Healthcare Summit Mumbai

106th Indian Science Congress 2019 Jalandhar, Punjab theme ‘Future India: Science and Technology’

International News German firm BigRep claims it has produced the world’s first fully functioning e-motorbike NERA using a

3D printer The UAE now has the world’s most powerful passport, achieving the top ranking in an achievement hailed

as a tribute to the legacy of the Founding Father, Sheikh Zayed, and the country’s diplomacy. Dubai Crown Prince Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has launched the largest Arabic

audio library in the world. The Dubai Audio Library, which targets seven million visually impaired people

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in the Arab world, was an initiative undertaken by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in collaboration with the website Bookshare.org.

Luxembourg is set to become the first country in the worldto make all its public transport free. Fares on trains, trams and buses will be lifted next summer under the plans of the re-elected coalition government led by Xavier Bettel, who was sworn in for a second term as prime minister recently.

China has launched a rover that will land on the far side of the moon, a global first that would boost Beijing’s ambitions to become a space superpower.

Israel became a full member of the global financial watchdog on money laundering and terror financing after having previously been blacklisted by the organisation.

India has handed over 50 housing units in the Rakhine province to Myanmar during President Ram Nath Kovind‘s maiden visit to the country. The housing units are part of a bigger developmental project, within which India is building 250 houses in Myanmar’s Rakhine province.

Akademik Lomonosov, the world’s first “floating” nuclear power plant (FNPP) for installation in remote areas, has been started and brought to 10 per cent of its capacity, Russian state-run atomic energy corporation Rosatom announced.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reached Janakpur, Nepal to participate in the celebrations of ‘Shri Ram-Janaki Bibaha Panchami’ festival and offered prayers at the Janaki Mandir.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has not revised its forecast for global economic growth, and it remains at 3.7 per cent for 2018 and at 3.5 per cent for the next year, OPEC said in its Monthly Oil Market Report.

Australia has become the first country in the world to recognise so-called orphanage trafficking as a form of modern-day slavery. The legislation forms part of a wider drive to stop Australians taking part in “voluntourism” schemes which harm rather than help the children.

Microsoft has overtaken Apple in market cap value for the first time in eight years. Microsoft briefly reached a market cap value of $812.93 billion, followed by Apple at a market cap of $812.60 billion.

Based on the results of a popular vote, Cambridge Dictionary has named “nomophobia”, the “fear or worry at the idea of being without your mobile phone or unable to use it” as word of the year.

Following a year of devastating climate disasters around the globe, from California to Kerala, and Tonga to Japan, the annual UN climate change conference (COP24) opened in the Polish city of Katowice on December 3 with the goal of finalising the implementation guidelines for the Paris Climate Change Agreement. The 12-day conference will conclude on December 14.

Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi announced that Qatar will withdraw from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in January 2019.

UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has declared 2019 as the “Year of Tolerance”, highlighting the country as a global capital for tolerance, through its goals to enhance the role of the country in instilling the values of co- existence and peace in local, regional and international communities. This is the fifth in theme-based observation of years in the United Arab Emirates.

Sri Lanka’s disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned from his post, signalling an end to nearly a two- month-long political crisis that has kept the island nation without a functional government.

India announced financial assistance of USD 1.4 billion to the Maldives as the island nation’s President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih undertook his maiden visit, which Prime Minister Narendra Modisaid would enhance “trust and friend” between the two nations.

India has welcomed Zambia as a member of the International Solar Alliance, with Vice President Venkaiah Naidu expressing hope for an early ratification of the Framework Agreement by Zambia.

US Scientists have created the world’s smallest tic-tac-toe board using dynamic DNA origami tiles microscopic organic structures that can be programmed to transform into predesigned patterns.

The repressive central Asian nation of Turkmenistan, where the likes of Facebook and Whatsapp are banned launched its first messaging app.

Merriam-Webster has declared ‘Justice’ as the 2018 Word Of The Year. As per Merriam-Webster says, the word ‘Justice’ is used in many phrases like racial justice, social justice and obstruction of justice.

It could take 202 years for women to earn as much as men because the global pay gap is so vast and the pace of change so slow, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has said in a report.

Italy’s Mount Etna, Europe’s highest and most active volcano erupted , sending a huge column of ash into the sky and causing the closure of Catania airport on Sicily’s eastern coast.

Thailand has approved the use of medical marijuana, making it the first country in southeast Asia to do so. The country’s interim parliament voted on the amendment in the Narcotics Bill. The measure is expected to take effect in 2019.

An American adventurer has become the first person to complete a solo trek across Antarctica without

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assistance of any kind. Mr Colin O’Brady, 33, took 54 days to complete the nearly 1,600km crossing of the frozen continent from north to south.

Pakistan’s cabinet has approved the issuance of first-ever renminbi-denominated bonds to raise loans from China’s capital markets, as the country moved a step forward to give the Chinese currency a status at par with the US dollar.

Japan has decided to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and will resume commercial whaling July next year. Tokyo will officially inform the IWC of its decision by the end of the year, which will mean the withdrawal comes into effect by June 30.

Portuguese airline Hi Fly decided to bring about a change by introducing single-use plastic free flight. The flight took off from Lisbon to Natale, Brazil, without a single piece of single-use plastic on board.

A Chinese space probe is moving into position to land on the dark side of the moon for the first time. The probe, the Chang’e-4, entered a planned orbit “to prepare for the first ever soft landing on the far side of the moon”.

National News The number of patents granted by India shot up by 50 % in 2017, keeping up a trend of steep increases,

according to the UN’s World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). The patents granted by India increased from 8,248 in 2016 to 12,387 last year, the WIPO’s World Intellectual Property Indicators 2018 report released in Geneva said.

In an attempt to tackle smuggling, the Central government has approved Anti-Smuggling National Coordination Centre (SCord) under the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).

The Centre approved additional assistance of Rs 3,719.07 crore to Kerala, Nagaland and Andhra Pradesh that were affected by floods, landslides and cyclone over the past few months.

India is the fourth highest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world, accounting for 7 per cent of global emissions in 2017, a study by the Global Carbon Project released recently.

The Indian Coast Guard has conducted the Regional Level Marine Oil Pollution Response Exercise titled ‘Clean Sea – 2018’ at sea off Port Blair. The preparedness of all agencies during the exercise was conducted under observation of Inspector General Maneesh V Pathak, Commander Coast Guard Region (Andaman and Nicobar Islands).

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iceland, Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson, arrived in India on an eight-day visit to the country. Thordarson is scheduled to address the Iceland-India Business Seminar at The Oberoi hotel in New Delhi

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the Agriculture Export Policy, 2018 with an aim to double farmers’ income by 2022.

Women are paid the most unequally in India, compared to men, when it comes to hourly wages for labour. On average, women are paid 34 per cent less than men, a recent report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) has found.

India continue to have the dubious distinction of registering the highest number of road fatalities across the globe. According to the Global Status Report on Road Safety, India reported a maximum of about 1.51 lakh road deaths in 2016 and globally the toll of road deaths increased from 1.25 million to 1.35 in a span of three years.

India is set to get its first underwater museum off the Puducherry coast, giving a boost to tourism in the Union territory. INS Cuddalore, a minesweeper decommissioned in March after it travelled 30,000 nautical miles in 30 years, will be turned into a museum.

Union minister of state for human resource developmentUpendra Kushwaha, resigned from the Union Council of Ministers. The Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) chief is likely to quit the BJP-led NDA alliance.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the fourth Partners’ Forum, an international conference organised to improve the health and well-being of women, children and adolescents, with about 1,500 participants from 85 countries.

The Agriculture Ministry launched online portal Ensure to connect with direct benefit transfer and provide simple, useful and transparent system to the beneficiary. Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Radha Mohan Singh launched the portal ENSURE- National Livestock Mission- EDEG developed by NABARD and operated under the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries.

India’s first Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence established by the European Union was inaugurated at the Department of European Studies (DES) at Manipal Academy of Higher Education by Ambassador of the European Union (EU) to India and Bhutan, Tomasz Kozlowski.

The government has constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to vet the recommendations of a high-level panel on stressed power projects. The panel, headed by Cabinet

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Secretary P K Sinha, had submitted its report last month. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will be the Chief Guest at the 2019 Republic Day celebration in

New Delhi, Ministry of External Affairs said. With women’s safety in mind, Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced a pan-India single-number “112”

under an emergency mobile app. It will have a special women safety feature to get immediate assistance from police and volunteers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi confirmed that India will host the G20 summit in the year 2022 when the country will complete 75 years of independence.

External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj and the Foreign Minister of Mozambique Jose Condungua Antonio Pacheco co-chaired the 4th India-Mozambique Joint Commission meeting in New Delhi, where the two leaders held discussion on co-operation in commercial, investment, defence, development and social sectors.

Indian Railways unveiled ‘eDrishti’ software that will help Union Railway Minister to keep track of punctuality of trains as well as freight and passenger earnings and much more from anywhere in the country.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) launched a media campaign calling for the elimination of industrially produced trans-fat in the food supply.

Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences has launched a campaign to spread a pan-India awareness about hepatitis disease. Empowering People Against Hepatitis: The Empathy Campaign was launched at Metro Bhawan, New Delhi.

Bouldering sensation Tuhin Satarkar pushed his limits as he scaled three routes in the treacherous Sahayadri mountain range in 12 days, from November 16 to 28, to become the first Indian to ever achieve the feat. The Sahayadri range has one of the most daunting mountains in Maharashtra.

The Centre has proposed prohibition of the use of animals for performances, exhibition at any circus or mobile entertainment facilities, a move hailed by animal rights activists as “progressive and laudable”.

External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj inaugurated the Gandhi-Zayed Digital Museum in Abu Dhabi along with Foreign Minister of UAE Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The Centre has included Gangotri and Yamunotri in Uttrarakhand, Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh and Parasnath in Jharkhand under a central scheme to develop pilgrimage and heritage destinations in the country.

National Rail Museum and Madame Tussauds Wax Museum have joined hands to provide combo offer to Delhi NCR tourists. As a part of the collaboration, a special discount of 35 per cent on ticket prices will be offered to Rail Museum visitors when they visit Madame Tussauds Museum.

A severe cyclone, Phethai, is likely to hit the Andhra Pradesh coast and north Tamil Nadu, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned in its latest weather forecast.

Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal has dedicated India’s first railway university to the Nation in Vadodara. The Railway University will be first of its kind institution in the nation and the third in the world after Russia and China.

Maldives’ new President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih arrived in New Delhi on a three-day state visit during which he will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi aimed at strengthening bilateral ties.

Foreign Affairs Minister of Denmark Anders Samuelsen arrived in New Delhi for a two-day official visit and is scheduled to meet Minister of commerce and industry Suresh Prabhu at Udyog Bhawan.

Equipped with Bharat Heavy Electricals supplied Nuclear power equipment, the 220 MW Unit 1 at the indigenously developed Kaiga Atomic Power Station (KAPS) of Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL), has created a world record for continuous operation.

The Union Cabinet approved setting up of two new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Madurai, Tamil Nadu, at a cost of Rs 1,264 crore and at Bibinagar, Telangana, at a cost of Rs 1,028 crore. It will be set up under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY).

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-whaarrived in New Delhi on a two-day visit to the country. She is in India at the invitation of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to co-chair the ninth meeting of India-Republic of Korea (ROK) Joint Commission.

The Integral Coach Factory (ICF) rolled out the mini version of Train 18 as it launched the new generation Mainline Electrical Multiple Unit (MEMU) with underslung equipment and some features from the Train 18.

The Department of Posts will honour all important people who have not been given their due place in history by issuing commemorative postal stamps in their names, Communications Minister Manoj Sinha said.

The civil aviation ministry along with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) launched an official mobile app

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“GAS 2019” for the global aviation summit to be held in Mumbai next month. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has launched the “Asiatic Lion Conservation

Project” with an aim to protect and conserve the world’s last ranging free population of Asiatic Lion and its associated ecosystem.

India fifth-most deadliest place to be a journalist, Afghanistan worst: Reporters without Borders (RSF) Addressing scientists after inaugurating the Atal Complex for the International Training Centre for

Operational Oceanography (ITCOocean) at the INCOIS campus in Hyderabad, Union Earth Sciences, Environment and Forests Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said India is playing a key role in the efforts that are being made to address the global environmental concerns.

The World Bank recently released a report titled‘In the Dark: How Much Do Power Sector Distortions Cost South Asia’. As per the report,Efficiency gap in India’s power sector costs the Indian economy 4% every year, which equivalents to $86 billion in 2016FY.

Sadaiv Atal, a memorial of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was dedicated to the nation on his 94th birth anniversary. President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among the dignitaries who paid floral tributes to the former statesman at the memorial built near the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal, where his funeral took place on August 17.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s longest rail-road Bogibeel Bridge, which is expected to reduce the distance between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh by around 700 kilometers, and the travel time from 24 hours to merely five hours.

Union Minister for Science and Technology and Environment Harsh Vardhan said India is firmly on its course to become one of the top two scientifically advanced nations in the world by 2030.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the institution of a new award named after Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, which would be given every year for “outstanding efforts” in the field of furthering national integration. The award was announced by Prime Minister Modi while addressing the conference of DGPs/IGPs in Gujarat’s Kevadia.

Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have emerged as top performing states in Niti Aayog’s SDG India index 2018, which evaluates progress in social, economic and environmental terms. Assam, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are the worst performing states in the government think tank’s first of its kind India Index for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

A mobile application “Chuppi Tod” (break your silence) was launched in Patna to fight the rampant social evil of child marriage and sexual harassment. Launched by noted women rights campaigner Prashanti Tiwari, the application will educate women and girls on the evils of sexual harassment and child marriage.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj agreed to redouble bilateral trade to 50 billion USD by the year 2030. Both the leaders met here at the Jawaharlal Nehru Bhavan and reviewed multifaceted cooperation under the Special Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

The ninth meeting of the India-Republic of Korea (ROK/ South Korea) Joint Commission will be held in New Delhi during the South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha‘s official two-day from December 18 to 19 in New Delhi.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) communicated that India is adhering to safety standards of International Civil Aviation Organization and India’s International Aviation Safety Assessment rating remains Category 1.

Government formed a 12-member Committee For Cadre Review, Restructuring Of Income Tax Department, chaired by Delhi-based Principal Director General of Income Tax, S K Dash, will also suggest ways to “bring about rationalisation of the organisational structure for enhancing the effectiveness of the department through improved efficiency and morale of its workforce”.

The government plans to make all electricity meters smart prepaid in three years in a bid to cut transmission and distribution losses. The Power Ministry has decided to make all meters smart prepaid in three years from April 1, 2019.

Prime Minister of Bhutan Lotay Tshering reached New Delhi on a three-day official visit to India. The visit takes place during the Golden Jubilee year of the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Railway minister Piyush Goyal, announced that Train 18 is now the fastest train in India. India’s first indigenously built engine-less train, meant for intra-day travel, can cut down travel time by 10 to 15 per cent compared to the Shatabdi. It is developed by Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory (ICF) at a cost of Rs 100 crore.

To make trains more safe by eliminating human errors, Central Railway has developed an AI-powered robot which would click pictures and record videos of the under-gears of trains and send them to

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engineers for repairs and maintenance. The NHRC launched a toll-free number and also a facility to file complaints through Common Service

Centre (CSC). Justice (retd) H L Dattu, the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission, unveiled the toll-free number 14433 at a brief ceremony at the Manav Adhikar Bhawan, New Delhi.

Airports in India will be able to use body scanners from next year and spare “clean” passengers physical frisking. The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) is soon going to come out with technical specifications of these scanners and then airports can install and machines meeting those norms.

President R.N. Kovind inaugurated the centenary celebrations of The Yoga Institute, Mumbai, the world’s oldest organized institute of yoga studies, which turned 100 recently.

India will contribute Rs 4,500 crore to Bhutan for the 12th five-year plan, announced Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The announcement comes during the official three-day visit of Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering.

The 41st meeting of the Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee was held in New Delhi. In the meeting, the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs has approved the construction of another 3,10,597 more affordable houses for the benefit of urban poor under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban).

All motor vehicles will come fitted with tamper-proof high-security registration plates (HSRPs) from April 1 to protect against counterfeiting. Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said the proposal to amend the concerned rule in Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 and revision of the HSRP Order, 2001 was placed in the public domain for soliciting objections/suggestions and was discussed in a meeting on June 5, 2018.

A commission, headed by Justice G Rohini (retd), examining the sub-categorisation of the Central list of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) has decided to get a countrywide survey conducted by an agency to have an estimate of the caste-wise population figures and has sought funds from the Centre for the same.

Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched the Ujjwala Sanitary Napkin initiative in Bhubaneswar, which will expand women’s access to hygiene products and provide them with employment opportunities in every district of the state.

The Union Cabinet approved Rs 10,000 crore budget for the proposed human spaceflight mission (Gaganyaan), which envisages to send astronauts to space by 2022. The Union Cabinet has approved the Gaganyaan project under which a three-member crew will be sent to space for at least seven days.

Activities such as fur cutting, camel decoration, designing among others would be organised at the 26th International Camel Festival, which will be held on January 12 and 13 in Bikaner. Domestic and foreign tourists are expected to take part in the festival in large numbers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the renaming of three islands of Andaman and Nicobar on the occasion of 75th anniversary of Tricolour hoisting by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in Port Blair. Ross Island has been renamed as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep, the Neil Island would now be known as Shaheed Dweep and the Havelock Island as Swaraj Dweep.

Mr Modi also dedicated the 150 feet high Flag Mast at South Point in Port Blair commemorating the historic event of the hoisting of first Tricolor on Indian soil by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in Port Blair on Dec 30, 1943.

State News Assam

In Assam, the third Dwijing Festival has begun on the bank of Aye river at Chirang district. Around 15 lakh tourists are expected to participate in the festival. Assam Public Health Engineering (PHE) minister Rihon Daimary inaugurated the festival in presence of several dignitaries.

Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh Environment and Forest Minister Nabam Rebia inaugurated the “Innovation Hub and Space Education Centre” situated at Arunachal Pradesh Science Centre, Itanagar.

Arunachal Pradesh got its 23rd district with the formal inauguration of Shi Yomi, carved out of the West Siang district. The district, consisting of four circles Mechuka, Pidi, Tato and Monigong. Two more districts would be created, which would increase the total number of districts to 25.

The 24th district of Arunachal Pradesh Lepa Rada was formally inaugurated a day after Shi Yomi became a new district. Lepa Rada is carved out of the Lower Siang district, comprising four administrative circles – Tirbin, Dari, Sago and Basar.

Arunachal Pradesh was given a permanent battalion of the National Disaster Response Force and Chief Minister Pema Khandu laid the foundation stone for the 12th battalion headquarters at Hollongi, Itanagar.

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Bihar Geographical Indications Registry at Chennai has granted GI tag to Silao Khaja, the traditional delicacy of

Nalanda district of Bihar. The application was filed by Silao Khaja Audyogik Swavalambi Sahakari Samiti Limited.

Delhi

The Delhi government launched the ‘Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojana’ which offers free travel packages on five religious circuits for senior citizens from the national capital. The scheme, approved by the Cabinet in July, was launched by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at the Delhi Secretariat.

The Delhi government launched a 10-day special drive to check whether minimum wage rules set by it are being followed in the national capital.

The Delhi government launched a common mobility card with a tagline of ‘One Delhi One Ride’ which would enable city commuters to access Metro and bus services with a single card at a 10 per cent discount.

Gujarat

Surat, renowned as a diamond processing and trading hub in Gujarat, would be the world’s fastest growing city in the 2019-35 period, averaging more than 9 per cent, according to a global economic research report. The report prepared by Oxford Economics. It further said all the top ten fastest-growing cities in the world in 2019-35 will be from India.

Haryana

The three-day Military Literature Festival (MLF) 2018, kick-started in Chandigarh. The festival is a joint initiative of military historian and Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore.

The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the 13th edition of CII Agro Tech India-2018 in Chandigarh.

Haryana’s prestigious International Gita Mahotsav-2018 will be organised from December 7 to 23 in Kurukshetra. Mauritius would be the partner country and Gujarat would be the partner state in the celebrations of the festival.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Jhajjar, Haryana, which is also India’s largest cancer hospital, opened for public service with the formal inauguration to be held in January. The NCI, which is a project under Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) will be headed by Dr G.K. Rath who is also the chief of Institute Rotary Cancer hospital at AIIMS.

In an attempt to give a boost to Ayurvedic products, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar will inaugurate World Herbal Forest Project, a collaboration of Patanjali and Haryana Government, in Morni Hill which is located 45 kilometres away from Chandigarh.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced to name all the Child Care Institutes being run in the state as ‘Jagannath Ashrams.’

Haryana Government has started mobile app ‘Shiksha Setu’ which would have all information related to attendance, fee, online admission and scholarships in all government colleges of the state besides having details of lecturers of government colleges and officers of the Directorate.

Jammu & Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir has become the first state in the country to have a law banning sexual exploitation of women by those in positions of authority, having a fiduciary relationship or a public servant.

President’s rule will be imposed in Jammu and Kashmir from 20 December with President Ram Nath Kovind signing a proclamation to give effect to the recommendation of the state Governor Satya Pal Malik. Kovind has signed the proclamation based on the proposal sent by the ministry following a report by the state governor.

Uttarakhand

The Uttarakhand Government constituted a four-member committee under tourism minister Satpal Maharaj to probe complaints related to the film ‘Kedarnath’. The government will take a decision on screening the movie in Uttarakhand after the committee submits its report.

Madhya Pradesh

The Government of Madhya Pradesh has announced setting up of a new Adhyatmik Vibhag (spiritual department). The proposed new department will be set up by merging several existing departments.

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Dharmik Nyas Evam Dharmasv Department (Religious Trust and Endowment Department), Anand Vibhag (Happiness Department) in addition to the Directorate of Religious Trust and Endowment, Madhya Pradesh Teerth Evam Mela Pradhikaran and Rajya Anand Sansthan would be merged to form the proposed Adhyatmik Vibhag (spiritual department).

Maharashtra

To bring transparency to cash transactions, the Pune district court administration is starting an e-payment facility in the Shivajinager district and sessions court. This is the first time in India that practising lawyers and litigants in various cases will be able to make payments online.

In a bid to transform rural Maharashtra, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has launched a unique initiative called “SMART”, which stands for State of Maharashtra’s Agribusiness and Rural Transformation. This World Bank assisted project aims to revamp agricultural value chains, with special focus on marginal farmers across 1,000 villages.

The Indian Owl Festival, the country’s first owl fest, was held at Pingori village in Purandar taluka of Pune from November 29. The two-day festival, organised by Ela Foundation, an NGO working towards nature education and conservation.

The Maharashtra government approved a sum of Rs 4,089 crore for the Tembhu lift irrigation scheme in Satara district. The scheme, which will also benefit Satara’s adjoining districts in Western Maharashtra, was approved by the state Cabinet at its meeting in Mumbai.

Marking the 94th birth anniversary celebrations of the late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis launched the ‘Bharat Ratna Atal Bihar Vajpayee International Schools’ for students in mofussil areas.

Nagaland

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

In Nagaland, the 19th edition of the Hornbill Festival 2018 began with a colourful extravaganza of music and dance. Inaugurating the opening ceremony, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh conveyed his greetings to the people of Nagaland on the occasion of Statehood Day on 1 December.

Odisha

An international storytelling festival “BhuFeSto” was organised for the differently- abled children in Bhubaneswar where special storytelling sessions for children with visual and hearing disabilities was organized.

A seven-member search committee headed by Justice Amitabh Ray has been constituted for the appointment of Lokayukta in the state. The selection committee of the Lokayukta under the Chairmanship of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Orissa High Court Chief Justice, Justice KS Jhaveri set up the search committee.

India’s first international indigenous film festival will take place in February next year in Odisha. An initiative of activist film collective Video Republic, that has been campaigning for indigenous communities in the State, the three-stop event will kick off in Bhubaneswar on February 19.

With an aim at creating awareness about various schemes of the state government and improve transparency in distribution of individual and social benefits, chief minister Naveen Patnaik announced PEETHA initiative.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has announced financial aid of Rs 10 crore for establishment of Odiya Cultural Centre in Gujarat’s Surat for their social celebrations.

Odisha state Cabinet approved Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme, amounting to over Rs 10,000 crore covering 92 per cent of cultivators.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a stamp and a coin to commemorate the Paika rebellion of 1817 in Odisha. He also inaugurated the new campus of IIT-Bhubaneswar, built at a cost of Rs 1,660 crore, and launched a slew of projects worth Rs 14,523 crore for the state.

One of the earliest Buddhist settlements in Odisha, Lalitgiri, where excavations have yielded ancient seals and inscriptions, has been converted into a museum. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the museum through video conference from Bhubaneswar.

The 26th National Childres’s Science Congresshas been inaugurated by the Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneswar.

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Punjab The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the implementation

of the Shahpurkandi Dam Project, Punjab on river Ravi. For this, central assistance of Rs. 485.38 crore (for irrigation component) would be provided over five years from 2018-19 to 2022-23

Kerala

Union Minister of Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the Kannur international airport making Kerala the only state in the country to have four international airports.

Microsoft has selected Kerala Police’s Facebook page, which has over 10 lakh followers, to study the organisation’s new age media interactions. Kerala Police is known for posting funny memes and witty responses to address social issues to the public through its page. Tamil Nadu

The country’s first music museum will be set up with assistance from the Central government in Thiruvaiyaru, Tamilnadu, the birth place of Saint Tyagaraja, one of the Trinities of Carnatic music. This was announced by the State Minister for Culture and Tamil Development Shri K Pandiarajan in Madurai.

The unique Chapparam (Chariot) festival was celebrated with traditional rituals and festivities in the famous Madurai Meenakshi temple, in Tamil Nadu. The fest symbolizes the importance of preserving all kinds of food and fodder.

Telangana

India’ first private sector unit for manufacturing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) opened at Adani Aerospace Park in Hyderabad. Built by the Adani Group and Israel-based Elbit Systems, the 50,000 square feet facility will develop Hermes 900 medium altitude long-endurance UAVs for the Indian and global markets.

Uttar Pradesh

The government said it has given its nod to develop a Rs 156 crore freight village in Varanasi adjoining the inland waterways terminal on river Ganga that will boost the logistics industry in the holy city.

A 25 feet high statue of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will be installed in the Lok Bhawan in Lucknow, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced. He was speaking at a function held to celebrate the 94th birth anniversary of the late leader.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the IRRI South Asia Regional Centre (ISARC) at the campus of National Seed Research and Training Centre (NSRTC) in Varanasi.

Finance and Banking News Leading Investment Bank Axis Capital said its MD & CEO Dharmesh Mehta has stepped down. The bank

also said it has elevated Salil Pitale and Chirag Negandhi as Joint Managing Directors and Co-Chief Executive Officer.

SEBI renamed ‘Institutional Trading Platform’ (ITP) of start-ups’ listings as ‘Innovators Growth Platform’. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the Centre has decided to increase its contribution to the NPS for the

central government employees to 14 per cent and also made the entire withdrawal amount tax free at the time of retirement.

Reserve Bank of India has allowed Bandhan Bank to open as many as 40 more branches, first time after it put a restriction on the bank’s branch opening spree three months back. RBI has come down heavily on Bandhan Bank in the last week of September for its failure to bring down promoters’ stake to 40% as per the licensing agreement. The regulator barred the bank from opening branches without prior approval.

The RBI said NSFR norms that mandate banks to maintain a stable funding profile in relation to the composition of their assets and off-balance sheet activities will be operational from April 2020.

The Reserve Bank of India said it has approved merger of SBM (Mauritius), India with SBM Bank (India). The Reserve Bank of India has sanctioned the Scheme of amalgamation of the entire undertaking of SBM Bank (Mauritius) Limited, India with SBM Bank (India) Limited which has been granted licence by the Reserve Bank to carry on the business of banking in India through Wholly Owned Subsidiary (WOS) mode under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

ICICI Securities, along with the BSE, has launched a facility wherein clients of the domestic brokerage entity would be able to receive the pay-out within 30 minutes of selling the shares. This is much quicker than the current system in which it takes at least two days after the transaction for investors to get the money in their bank account.

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State Bank of India has roped in Asian Games gold medalist Swapna Barman as brand ambassador for its digital app YONO.

HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company, India’s leading private sector general insurance company and Federal Bank, announced tie-up for the distribution of HDFC ERGO’s range of non-life insurance offerings to the customers of the Bank through its network branches.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that government will infuse Rs 83,000 crore in public sector banks in the next few months of the current fiscal. The government proposed a bill in the Parliament seeking approval for additional recap bonds of Rs 41,000 crore in the state-owned banks through the second batch of supplementary demands for grants.

New generation private sector IDFC Bank and non-banking financial company Capital First announced completion of their merger, creating a combined loan asset book of Rs 1.03 trillion for the merged entity IDFC First Bank.

State-owned United Bank of India said the government has decided to infuse Rs 2,159 crore in the bank as part of Rs 28,615 crore capital infusion to be done in about half a dozen banks. The government has decided to pump Rs 28,615 crore into seven public sector banks (PSBs) through recapitalisation bonds soon.

India’s institutional framework to support microfinance would get a boost with Reserve Bank of India clearing a proposal to dig in an existing Rs 1000-crore corpus for funding micro lenders. The development bank will now use the money to offer soft loans to Micro Financial Institutions (MFIs) on a condition that end borrowers should get loans at 15-17% rate, which is significantly lower than the prevailing 20-22% market rate.

The Reserve Bank has increased the withdrawal limit for depositors of City Co-operative Bank Ltd, Mumbai, to Rs 5,000. Amid weakening of the financial position of the cooperative bank, the RBI in April had imposed several restrictions on it, including limiting the withdrawal by depositors to Rs 1,000.

ICICI Bank has topped the list of banks with maximum number of employees on whom action has been taken in the last three years for involvement in frauds. In the last three years, action has been taken against 13,949 bank officials belonging to 60 PSU banks and private banks.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extended the enhanced single borrower limit facility for NBFC sector by another 3 months, till March 31, to provide much needed liquidity support. This facility was valid till December 31, 2018.

Recovery of Indian banks improved in 2017-18 after the implementation of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and amendment of the Sarfaesi Act, according to the Trends and Progress Report. The central bank corrected data for the IBC recovery.

The number of ATMs has declined marginally to 2.07 lakh in FY18 from 2.08 lakh in FY17, primarily due to branch rationalisation by a few public sector banks, the Reserve Bank said in its annual report. In FY18, the number of ATMs of state-run banks declined to 1.45 lakh from 1.48 lakh in FY17,” the RBI said in the ‘Trends & Progress of Banking in 2017-18’ report.

Business News In a bid to further cement its position in the global music space, Apple has reportedly acquired

London- based creative services and music start-up Platoon for an undisclosed sum. Media consumption in India grew at an annual per capita rate of 9 per cent over the last six years, far

outpacing the US and China in this regard, according to a joint report released by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

The chief executive officer of Myntra, a unit of Walmart Inc-owned Flipkart. Myntra CEO Ananth Narayanan‘s position will be abolished as Flipkart’s Amar Nagaram is set to head the unit.

The number of smartphone users is expected to double to 829 million by 2022 from 404.1 million in 2017, projects a new Cisco report. This proliferation of smart devices will propel India’s per capita data consumption to nearly 14 gigabytes (GB) by 2022 from 2.4 GB in 2017, according to Cisco’s latest “Visual Networking Index (VNI)” report.

FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) said its board has approved the merger with GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (GSKCH India) through an-all equity deal, valuing the total business of the latter at Rs. 31,700 crore

The government has constituted a seven-member panel to select managing directors of public sector insurance companies. The panel would be headed by Banks Board Bureau (BBB) chairman B P Sharma.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has shortlisted six major IT companies, including TCS, Wipro and IBM India, to set up a digital public credit registry (PCR) for capturing details of all borrowers and wilful defaulters.

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Investments in the Indian capital market through participatory notes climbed to Rs 79,247 crore in November after hitting a nine-and-a-half year low at the end of preceding month. P-notes are issued by registered foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to overseas investors who wish to be part of the Indian stock market without registering themselves directly.

Tightening norms for e-commerce firms having foreign investment, the government barred online marketplaces like Flipkart and Amazon from selling products of companies where they hold stakes and banned exclusive marketing arrangements that could influence product price.

Economy News Fitch Ratings slashed India’s GDP growth forecast to 7.2 per cent for current fiscal, from 7.8 per cent

projected in September, citing higher financing cost and reduced credit availability. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has approved India’s proposal to observe an International

Year of Millets in 2023, Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said in New Delhi. Singh had made the demand in August this year, which has been accepted by the ongoing FAO Council in Rome.

The government has extended the last date of filing annual Goods and Services Tax (GST) returns by three months till March 31, 2019 providing much-needed relief to businesses struggling to comply with the year-end deadline.

India is expected to receive a total remittance of $80 billion in 2018, said the latest edition of the World Bank’s Migration and Development Brief. Among major remittance recipients, India retains its top spot, with remittances expected to total $80 billion this year, followed by China ($67 billion), Mexico and the Philippines ($34 billion each), and Egypt ($26 billion).

India’s current account deficit (CAD) widened to 2.9 per cent of the GDP in the second quarter of the fiscal compared to 1.1 per cent in the year-ago period, mainly due to a large trade deficit, the RBI said. The CAD, or the difference between outflow and inflow of foreign exchange in the country’s current account, was USD 19.1 billion during the quarter ended September 30, 2018.

The Asian Development Bank retained India’s economic growth forecast at 7.3 per cent for the current fiscal and 7.6 per cent for 2019-20, despite downside risks posed by stress in the non-banking sector, limited fiscal space as well as escalating trade tensions.

India has the fastest growing online retail market among top global economies. The country’s online retail market witnessed a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 53% for the period 2013 to 2017, according to a latest report by consultancy firm Bain & Company.

Moody’s Investors Service’s annual Banking System Outlook on India estimated the country’s real gross domestic product (GDP) for the current financial year and next fiscal to grow at 7.2 per cent and 7.4 per cent, respectively.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said about 60 thousand crore rupees would be spent on Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, MGNREGA this year.

Crisil cut India’s growth forecast for current financial year to 7.4 per cent on the back of weakening global GDP and trade growth. India’s growth in the July-September quarter slipped to 7.1 per cent from 8.2 per cent in the April- June quarter.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) pegged India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate for the financial year 2018-19 at 7.4 per cent and 7.2 per cent in H2.

In view of the “current and evolving macroeconomic situation” in the country, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 6.5 per cent. The decision was taken at the fifth bi-monthly meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the RBI.

Assuming a normal monsoon in 2019, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that inflation is likely to stay in the range of “2.7-3.2 per cent in H2 of 2018-19 and 3.8-4.2 per cent in H1 of 2019-20, with risks tilted to the upside.”

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced a cap on the outstanding stock of external commercial borrowings (ECB) at 6.5 per cent of GDP at current market prices. Based on the gross domestic product (GDP) figures at March- end 2018, the soft limit works out to USD 160 billion for the current financial year.

India’s budgetary fiscal deficit for the April-November period at Rs 7.17 lakh crore has exceeded the target for the full fiscal, accounting for 114.8 per cent of the budgeted target of Rs 6.24 lakh crore, mainly owing to slow revenue growth during the period.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in consultation with the government, has set up a six-member committee to review the economic capital framework of the central bank. Former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan will be the committee’s chairman and former Deputy Governor Rakesh Mohan deputy chairman.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched a survey to understand the “Retail Payment Habits of

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Individuals” (SRPHi). According to the central bank, the survey will cover a sample of 6,000 individuals from different socio- economic background across six cities, viz., Delhi, Mumbai Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Guwahati.

India’s manufacturing sector growth as measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) with the base year 2011-12 has been consistently increasing over the past three years.

For the first time in two decades, India has been getting more foreign investment than its neighbour China. In 2018, India saw more than$38 billion of inbound deals compared with China’s $32 billion.

Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev in his annual address to the Parliament announced 2019 as the ‘Year of Active Investment and Social Development’ in the backdrop of proposed investments from India to boost economy of this Central Asian country.

Science & Technology The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched its heaviest and most-advanced

high throughput communication satellite, GSAT-11, from the Spaceport in French Guiana. As part of its proposed manned space mission, India will launch the Indian Data Relay Satellite System

(IDRSS) to improve data relay and communication links with its remote sensing/earth observation satellites.

ISRO launched its military communication satellite GSAT-7A from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The satellite GSAT- 7A is the 35th Indian communication satellite weighing 2,250 kg. GSAT-7A will be the first satellite built primarily for the Indian Air Force (IAF) to qualitatively unify its assets and improve combined, common intelligence during operations.

Defence News Russian Federation Navy (RuFN) ships Varyag, Admiral Panteleyev and Boris Butoma arrived in

Visakhapatnam to participate in INDRA NAVY-18, the bilateral maritime exercise between the Indian Navy and the Russian Federation Navy.

Ex Aviaindra 2018, a service-specific exercise between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Russian Federation Aerospace Force (RFSAF) will commence at Air Force Station, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, from December 10 to 21.

The Indian Navy will conduct a large-scale coastal defence exercise, ‘Exercise sea vigil’ next month to test the robustness of the entire coastal security apparatus.

The Japanese Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) is in India for a bilateral air exercise SHINYUU Maitri-18 with Indian Air Force from 03-07 December at A F Station Agra. The theme of the exercise is ‘Joint Mobility/Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR) on Transport aircraft’.

India and China began the 7th round of their ‘Hand-in-Hand’ military drills in the Chinese city of Chengdu as part of the focussed efforts by the two militaries to improve ties after last year’s standoff at Doklam.

In an effort to have more intense relations with countries in the Indian Ocean region, India inaugurated an Information Fusion Centre — Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) which will work closely with countries in the region and will be manned by the Indian Navy.

India successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable long-range Inter Continental Ballistic Missile Agni-IV, with a strike range of 4,000 km. The test was part of a user trial by the Army. The strategic surface-to-surface missile was flight tested from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Dr Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast.

Sports News

Tournament Winner Runner Up 2018 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion Shubhankar Sharma

Pune International Marathon Atlawim Debebe of Ethiopia Teshome Getachew

62nd National Shooting Championship Competitions (NSCC) for shotgun events

Rajasthan’s Maheshwari Chauhan

Punjab’s Ganemat Sekhon

Men’s Hockey World Cup 2018(Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar)

Belgium

US Kids Junior Golf World Championship in Malaysia

India’s Arjun Bhati

Maharashtra Kesari 2018 Bala Rafique Shaikh

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Sports Kenya’s marathon world record holder Eliud Kipchoge and Colombian jumper Caterine Ibarguen were

honoured as IAAF athletes of the year at athletics’ annual awards ceremony in Monaco. Breaking an 82-year-old record, Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah became the fastest bowler in the world to

reach the milestone of scalping 200 Test wickets. The Hungarian capital city of Budapest was awarded the IAAF World Athletics Championships in 2023 at

the IAAF Council in Monaco which means the World Championships will return to European soil after a six year hiatus following Doha in 2019 and Eugene in 2021.

Anushka, Chaitanya youngest winners at U.S. Kids Golf’s first event in India. Khelo India Youth Games-2019 will be held in Pune of Maharashtra. Madhya Pradesh opener Ajay Rohera etched his name in the record books by slamming the highest first-

class score on debut, an unbeaten 267 against Hyderabad in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B game in Indore.

Steel Authority of India’s Hockey Academy beat Army XI Danapur 2-1 to clinch the 115th All India Aga Khan Gold Cup hockey tournament. Jay Prakash Patel scored the match-winning goal for the SAIL Hockey Academy (SHA) in the final match played at Major Dhyan Chand Hockey Stadium in New Delhi.

In the latest ICC cricket rankings, India Captain Virat Kohli maintains his top spot. Cheteshwar Pujara‘s knocks of 123 and 71 were the cornerstone of India’s victory in the opening Test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval. This has given him the career-best ranking to top five.

Virat Kohli becomes first Asian skipper to win a Test in South Africa, England and Australia. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has roped in Indian alcobev brand Royal Stag as official sponsor for

the next five years. The partnership, which runs through 2023, will cover international events, including the upcoming big- ticket calendar events the ICC Cricket World Cup, ICC T20 World Cup and ICC World Test Championship.

Vinesh Phogat announced her return from injury after a successful day out by grabbing the 57 kilogram title while Sakshi Malik emerged the champion in the 62 kg on the second day of the Tata Motors Senior Womens National Championship in Gond, U.P.

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 held in Taipei city, Taiwan.

The Hungarian capital of Budapest will host the 2023 World Athletics Championships, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) announced. The next worlds will take place in Doha in 2019 before going to Eugene, United States, in 2021.

Former India opening batsman Gautam Gambhir, who won two World Cups and scored over 10,000 international runs, announced his retirement from the sport.

Ace Indian shuttler P V Sindhu lifted the prestigious season-ending World Tour Finals trophy at Guangzhou, China.

Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep were named as the 2018 ITF world champions by the governing body of global tennis. World number one Djokovic receives the honour from the International Tennis Federation for the sixth time, while it is the first year that Romania’s top-ranked Halep has been recognized.

Tsingtao and Yanjing have been named theofficial beers of the 2022 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing.

India’s former World Cup winning captain Anup Kumar announced his retirement from Kabaddi, ending a 15-year iconic career. He announced his retirement ahead of a Pro Kabaddi League (PKL)season 6 match, where he represents the Jaipur Pink Panthers.

Former Indian cricketer WV Raman has been chosen by the Board of Control for Cricket in India-appointed ad-hoc committee as the head of women cricket team.

After claiming a historic fifth World Drivers’ Championship, Lewis Hamilton has added to an ever-growing list of accolades after taking home the inaugural Drivers’ Driver of the Year.

Indian woman Vedangi Kulkarni has become the fastest Asian to cycle the globe. Hailing from a suburb of Pune, 20- year old Vedangi cycled into Kolkata completing the 29,000 kilometers’ distance required to qualify as bicycling across the globe.

Belgium will end the year as No. 1 ahead of world champions France in the global rankings released by FIFA recently.

American Mikaela Shiffrin became the youngest woman to win 50 World Cup ski races with victory in the slalom in the French Alps recently.

Croatia captain Luka Modric was named Balkan Athlete of the Year becoming only the second soccer player to scoop the prize after Bulgaria’s former European Footballer of the Year Hristo Stoichkov in 1994.

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Rankings

Index India’s Rank Other Information Climate Change Performance Index 11 Sweden tops the index

misperception index 12

World Economic Forum (WEF)’s Global Gender Gap Index

108 Iceland tops the index

Rankings (Persons,Cities,Organisations and Others) Odisha has been ranked as “Top Performer” in the State Startup Ranking-2018 organised by the

Department of Industrial Promotion and Policy (DIPP) of the Central government. This is the first-ever ranking of states on 38 parameters relating to their respective startup ecosystem including feedback from a large number of beneficiaries.

The NITI Aayog ranked Jharkhand’s Pakur district the worst and Tamil Nadu’s Virudhunagar the best among the nation’s 111 backward districts.

Loans from Banks/Organisations Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) has extended a credit facility of USD 500 million (about Rs 3,542

crore) to Tanzania for water supply projects in the African country. Under this agreement, of the total credit by Exim Bank, goods and services of value of at least 75 per cent of the contract price shall be supplied by the seller from India.

The board of Beijing-headquartered Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s (AIIB) has approved a $400-million loanfor a water sanitation project in Andhra Pradesh, taking the overall exposure of the bank to India to $2 billion spread over nine projects.

A project to boost tourism in Tamil Nadu will be funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to the tune of $31 million (about Rs 222.84 crore). An agreement in this regard was signed between the government of India and ADB.

India and Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $60 million loan agreement to reduce floods and the riverbank erosion in Assam, the Finance Ministry said. The Tranche 2 loan is part of the $120 million multi-tranche financing facility for the Assam Integrated Flood and Riverbank Erosion Risk Management Investment Program approved by the ADB Board in October 2010.

The Odisha government signed a loan agreement of $85 million with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to train 1.5 lakh youths in the state. With this assistance, youths in the age group of 15-34 years will be given skill development training to make them competent to get better work and higher paying jobs.

India will receive loan to the tune of Rs 6668.46 crore from Japan for various development projects. The loan will used to develop the phase two of the Chennai metro project, a dairy development project and a programme for Japan-India cooperative actions towards Sustainable Development Goals in India.

Books Book Author Other Info Of Counsel: The Challenges of the Modi-Jaitley Economy

Arvind Subramanian

Timeless Laxman Usha Srinivas Laxman based on the life and times of legendary cartoonist, the late R. K. Laxman

Changing India Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

Obituaries

Name Profession Other Info

Arun Kumar Shaw 7 times Former National Champion Swimmer

Jayaraman Noted agriculturalist

Maulana Asrar-ul-Haque Qasmi Islamic scholar and Congress Lok Sabha MP from Bihar

19 www.fundamakers.com

Jagdish Thakkar Public Relations Officer (PRO) in the prime minister’s office and senior journalist

Mushirul Hasan Historian

In his book When Stone Walls Cry, He presents the unknown facets of prison life of the Nehrus and how that transformed their vision and character.

C.N. Balakrishnan Senior Congress leader and former Kerala Minister

Ajayan Malayalam film director

Pandit Arun Bhaduri classical singer

Belisario Betancur Former Colombian president

George H W Bush 41st President of the United States of America

Tulsi Giri Former Nepalese Prime Minister

Prabhanjan (given name S.Vaidyalingam)

Tamil writer and Sahitya Akademi Award winner

Dipali Borthakur Legendary singer Popularly known as “Nightingale of Assam”

Nirupam Sen Veteran Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader

Nirendranath Chakrabarty Sahitya Academy Award-winning Bengali writer

Dwijen Mukhopadhyay Bengali singer

Captain Jai Narain Prasad Nishad Former Union Minister

Sulagitti Narasamma Social worker and Padma Shri awardee

Dr. Hamidi Kashmiri tallest literary figure in the world of Urdu language, literature and literary

Shehu Shagari Former Nigerian President

Mrinal Sen Filmmaker