Weekly Capsule Week 2 of December

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Weekly Capsule Week 2 of December

Contents

Economy & Banking………………………………………………………..3

Government& Polity……………………………………………………….5

International…………………………………………………………………7

States…………………………………………………………………………9

Sports………………………………………………………………………..10

Appointment…………………………………………………………………12

Person/Event/Award……………………………………………………….14

“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts”-Eleanor Roosevelt

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Weekly Capsule Week 2 of December

Economy & Banking

1. MF assets rise 8% to Rs.24.03 lakh cr

 Despite stock market volatility, assets under management (AUM) of mutual funds (MFs) in November increased 8% to Rs.24.03 lakh crore from Rs.22.23 lakh crore reported in October.  This was primarily on account of fresh fund inflow into liquid MF schemes and recovery in the equity markets. According to AMFI data, November witnessed an inflow of Rs.1.36 lakh crore into liquid funds, which was more than double that of Rs.55,296 crore reported in October

 The Association of Mutual Funds in India is an industry standards organization in

India in the mutual funds sector. It was formed in 1995.

2. Current account deficit widens to 2.9% in Q2

 Current account deficit (CA) widened to 2.9% of GDP for the July-September quarter due to higher trade deficit compared with 1.1% during the same period of the previous year.  The deficit for the second quarter was $19.1 billion.The CAD for the April-June quarter was 2.4% of GDP or $15.9 billion

3. Direct tax collections surge 15.7% in Apr.-Nov

 Gross direct tax collections surged 15.7% to Rs.6.75 lakh crore for April-November.  The net direct tax collections represent 48% of the total budget estimates of direct taxes for financial year 2018-19 (Rs.11.50 lakh crore).Gross collections in corporate income tax (CIT) and personal income tax (PIT) grew 17.7% and 18.3%, respectively.

4. RBI slaps Rs.1 crore fine on Indian Bank

 The RBI said it had imposed a fine of Rs.1 crore on Indian Bank for violating cyber security norms.  The RBI has imposed, by an order dated November 30, 2018, a penalty of Rs.1 crore on the lender for contravention of Circular on Cyber Security Framework in bank.

5. IIP rises to 11-month high in October

 Growth in the Index of Industrial Production ((IIP) came in at 8.08% in October, up from 4.47% in the previous month, and 1.83% in October of last year. This was primarily led by the 7.04% growth in the mining sector and the 7.92% growth in the manufacturing sector respectively.

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Weekly Capsule Week 2 of December

6. Retail inflation in November slows to 17-month low of 2.33%

 Growth in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the measure of retail inflation, slowed sharply to 2.33% in November from 3.38% in the previous month.  CPI is the main price gauge that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) tracks. As per minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting held on December 5, former RBI Governor Urjit Patel said that broad-based weakening of food prices and the sharp decline in international crude oil prices imparts a downward bias to the headline inflation trajectory going forward..

7. India, China join hands to promote tea globally

 Two apex industry organisations, Indian Tea Association (ITA) and China Tea Marketing Association (CTMA), have signed a memorandum of understanding to promote green and black tea consumption in major tea markets.  The MoU was signed between Vivek Goenka, ITA chairman, and Wang Qing, president, CTMA.The MoU covers the areas of trade promotion, intellectual property protection and technology exchange.

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Weekly Capsule Week 2 of December

Government & Polity

1. M.S. Swaminathan calls GM crops a failure

 The research paper, „Modern Technologies for Sustainable Food and Nutrition Security‟, authored by P.C. Kesavan and Prof. Swaminathan, is a review of crop development in India and transgenic crops — particularly Bt cotton, the stalled Bt brinjal as well as DMH-11, a transgenic mustard hybrid.  The latter two have been cleared by scientific regulators but not by the Centre.It describes Bt cotton as a “failure”.  The piece also raises questions on the genetic engineering technology itself on the grounds that it raises the cost of sowing. Also, the insertion of foreign genes (in the plant) could lead to “molecular and cellular events not precisely understood”.

2. Govt notifies commonly used medical devices as drugs

 Government has notified commonly used medical devices nebulizers, blood pressure monitors, digital thermometers and glucometers as drugs under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.  It will enable the government to ensure their quality and performance.The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) will regulate the import, manufacture and sale of these devices from January 2020.

3. Centre amends rules for minorities from three nations

 The contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, is pending in Parliament, but the Union Home Ministry has notified amendments to the Citizenship Rules, 2009, to include a separate column in the citizenship form for applicants belonging to six minority communities from , Afghanistan and Bangladesh.  A parliamentary committee has been examining the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, that proposes citizenship to six persecuted minorities — Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Parsis, Christians and Buddhists — from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who came to India before 2014.

4. No tax on withdrawals from NPS

 The government announced increasing the government‟s contribution, exempting withdrawals from tax, and also exempting up to Rs.1.5 lakh of contributions to the scheme from tax.  NPS subscribers could withdraw 60% of the corpus, with 40% mandatorily being deposited in annuity schemes.

5. SC directs Centre to declare 10 km area around national parks as eco-sensitive

 The Supreme Court directed the Union Environment Ministry to declare 10 km area around 21 national parks and wildlife sanctuaries across the country as „eco-sensitive zones‟.

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Weekly Capsule Week 2 of December

 The parks and sanctuaries are the Pobitora sanctuary in Assam; Hemis and Kishtewar national parks, Changthang, Hokersar, Trikuta sanctuaries in Jammu and Kashmir; Jogimatti, Thimlapura and Yadahalli Chinkara sanctuaries in Karnataka; Deolgaon Rehekuri and Thane Creek Flamingo sanctuaries and the Malvan marine sanctuary in Maharashtra; Siroi National Park and Khongjaingamba Ching sanctuary in Manipur; Baghmara Pitcher Plant sanctuary in Meghalaya; Fakim and Puliebadze and Rangapahar sanctuaries in Nagaland; Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar bird sanctuary and Pilibhit sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh and the Jorepokhri sanctuary in West Bengal.

6. India gets submarine rescue system

 The Indian Navy joined a select group of naval forces in the world when it inducted its first non- tethered Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV) system at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai.  The DSRV is used to rescue crew members from submarines stranded under water in the high seas.In March 2016, the Indian Navy had signed a Rs.2,000 crore contract with the U.K.-based James Fisher Defence (JFD) for two submarine rescue systems as well as maintenance for 25 years. The second system would be inducted in April and would be based at the Eastern Naval Command in Vishakapatnam.

7. Scientists step in to save Punganur cow

 The Punganur cow, considered one of the world‟s smallest breeds of cattle, is said to be on the verge of extinction due to cross-breeding conducted by farmers.  Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Animal Genetic Resources list the breed as facing extinction.  Animal genetics and breeding scientists from the NTR University of Veterinary Sciences in Gannavaram are now engaged in efforts to save the unique breed from extinction.

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Weekly Capsule Week 2 of December

International

1. OPEC and allies agree to cut oil production by 1.2 million barrels per day

 Major oil producers have reached a deal to cut oil production and boost the market.  OPEC clinched the deal with allied oil-producing nations including Russia at its headquarters in Vienna, Austria.  The alliance will take 1.2 million barrels per day off the market for the first six months of 2019. The 15-member OPEC cartel has agreed to reduce its output by 800,000 bpd.  OPEC agreed to exempt Iran, along with Venezuela and Libya. , which was exempt under the previous deal, will participate in this round of cuts.

 The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a group of oil-

producing nations that was first established in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1961.  Currently, the Organization has a total of 15 Member Countries. The current OPEC members are the following: Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Equatorial , Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, the Republic of the Congo, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.

2. Luxembourg Becomes First Country in World to Make All Public Transport Free

 Luxembourg is a landlocked country, bordered by Belgium, France and Germany.In an eco-friendly move aimed at reducing traffic congestion, Luxembourg has announced plans to become the world's first country to make its public transportation free for everyone.  It was one of the first measures to come out of the new coalition government led by the Democratic Party's Xavier Bettel, who was sworn in for his second term as prime minister this week.

3. China’s rover on mission to uncover moon’s ‘dark side’

 China launched a rover destined to land on the far side of the moon, first ever such launch globally. It would boost ambitions to become a space superpower.  The Chang‟e-4 lunar probe mission — named after the moon goddess in Chinese mythology — launched on a Long March 3B rocket from the southwestern Xichang launch centre.

4. Maldives applies to rejoin Commonwealth

 The Maldives has applied to rejoin the Commonwealth, reversing a policy of isolation under Abdulla Yameen.  President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, wrote to the bloc seeking readmission two years after Mr. Yameen pulled the nation out of it.

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Weekly Capsule Week 2 of December

 The Commonwealth of Nations(London), normally known as the Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of 53 member states that are mostly former territories of the British Empire.

5. India, Russia war games in Jaipur

 The Indian and Russian Air Forces will begin a 12-day war game in Jodhpur with an aim to enhance their operational coordination.  The exercise — Aviaindra — would be unique as the Russian Air Force would not bring its assets and would take part in the drill using Indian platforms.

6. Voyager 2 has officially reached interstellar space, confirms NASA

 NASA‟s Voyager 2 has become the second human-made object in history to reach the edge of our solar system, after the spacecraft exited the protective bubble of particles and magnetic fields created by the Sun.  Its twin, Voyager 1, crossed this boundary in 2012, but Voyager 2 — launched 41 years ago in 1977 — carries a working instrument that will provide first-of-its-kind observations of the nature of this gateway into interstellar space.

7. India, Russia to boost joint production in defence

 India and Russia have agreed on ways to simplify export clearances to take forward joint manufacturing in defence.  This was among the various issues discussed during the 18th meeting of the India-Russia Inter- Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MTC) chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her Russian counterpart General Sergei Shoigu.

8. India ups ante over SAARC meet spat

 Taking its protest over the presence of a minister from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) at a South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) meeting to the next level, India has now demanded that the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) be “derecognised” by the South Asian grouping.  Founded in 1992, the SCCI is formed from local chambers of commerce from all nine members of SAARC including the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The group led by SCCI president Ruwan Edrisinghe meets regularly and is one of the SAARC‟s most active bodies.

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Weekly Capsule Week 2 of December

States

1. Piers placed for world’s tallest railway bridge

 The Northeast Frontier Railway Construction Organisation has put in place tall piers near Manipur‟s Noney for the tallest railway bridge in the world.  The bridge, across the valley of river Ijai, is part of the 111 km Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal project. Once completed, it will have a pier height of 141 m. The record for the tallest railway bridge is now held by the 139 m Mala Rijeka viaduct, Montenegro.

2. Kerala first state to have 4 international airports

 Kerala has become the first state in the country to have four international airports with the inauguration of the Kannur airport.  With the commissioning of the airport, the state has become the first in the country to have four international airports, with Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode being the other three.  Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan jointly flagged off the inaugural Air India Express flight.

3. Kaiga n-power unit creates world record

 The Kaiga nuclear power plant in western Karnataka has created a world record for the longest uninterrupted operation of 941 days, breaking the earlier record of 940 days by the Heysham plant in the United Kingdom.  While the KGS-1 is a Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR), Heysham-2 Unit-8 is an Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor (AGR).

4. KCR sworn in as Telangana CM

 Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president K. Chandrasekhar Rao was sworn in as Chief Minister of Telangana for the second term by Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan.  Most of the 88 newly-elected MLAs of TRS were present.Chief Secretary S.K. Joshi conducted the proceedings,

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Weekly Capsule Week 2 of December

Sports

1. Asian Tour Order of Merit for Shubhankar Sharma

 Shubhankar Sharma (golfer) became the youngest Indian to clinch the Asian Tour Order of Merit .  Shubhankar, 22, became the fifth and the youngest Indian to win the Asian Tour Order of Merit.  He joins Jyoti Randhawa (2002), Arjun Atwal (2003), Jeev Milkha Singh (2006 and 2008) and Anirban Lahiri (2015..

2. Salsa , Kasidit Won Gadre Marine MSLTS ITF Junior titles

 Salsa Aher and Kasidit Samrej lifted the girls‟ and boys‟ singles titles at the Gadre Marine MSLTA-ITF junior u-18 tennis championship for the MV Deo Memorial Trophy.  Left-hander Salsa moves into the top 200 in the world junior rankings and also gained an entry to the Australian Open junior qualifiers.

3. ‘Bigger and better’ Khelo India Games

 The Khelo India Youth Games to be hosted in Pune from January 9 to 20, promises to be „bigger and better,‟ by Union Sports Minister, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.  Rathore announced that with 9000 sports persons, and covering college students, taking the age group from under-17 to under-21, this would be a big jump from the 3750 athletes who competed in the Khelo India School Games earlier this year.

4. ITTF award for Manika

 India‟s star paddler Manika Batra was bestowed with the International Table Tennis Federation‟s Breakthrough Star Award 2018.At this year‟s Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast,  Manika won four medals including a historic women‟s singles gold, team gold, women‟s doubles silver (with Mouma Das) and mixed doubles bronze (with G. Sathiyan).

5. 16 shooters in TOPS list

 A long list of 29 athletes got the nod for government support through the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) after a meeting of the Mission Olympic Cell of the Sports Authority of India (SAI).The list included 16 shooters.

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Weekly Capsule Week 2 of December

 In tennis, only the Asian Games doubles gold medalists Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan have been included in the scheme.

 Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (Department of Sports) have formulated „Target Olympic Podium (TOP) Scheme with the objective of identifying and supporting potential medal prospects for Olympic Games.  Focused disciplines will be Athletics, Archery, Badminton, Boxing, Wrestling and Shooting.

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Weekly Capsule Week 2 of December

Appointments

1. Krishnamurthy Subramanian Is New Chief Economic Advisor

 The government appointed Krishnamurthy Subramanian as chief economic advisor. His appointment is for a period of three years.  A professor from the Indian School of Business, Krishnamurthy Subramanian fills the role vacated by Arvind Subramanian, who left the finance ministry in June this year.  Currently, Krishnamurthy Subramanian serves as Associate Professor of Finance (with tenure) and Executive Director for the Centre for Analytical Finance at Indian School of Business..

 The Chief Economic Adviser is the economic advisor to the Government of India. The CEA is the ex-officio cadre controlling authority of the Indian Economic Service.  The CEA is under the direct charge of the Minister of Finance.

2. Ex-SBI chief is SWIFT India chairman

 SWIFT India appointed ex-SBI chief Arundhati Bhattacharya as the new chairman of its board.  SWIFT India is a joint venture of top Indian public and private sector banks and SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication).The company was created to deliver high quality domestic financial messaging services to the Indian financial community.

3. CAG Rajiv Mehrishi appointed as Vice-Chair of UN Panel of Auditors

 Comptroller and Auditor General Rajiv Mehrishi has become the Vice-Chair of the UN Panel of Auditors. The panel also elected the Comptroller and Auditor General of the UK as Chair of the Panel for another term (2019).  The United Nations Panel of Auditors consists of External Auditors of the United Nations and its agencies.  Presently, the panel consists of 11 countries -- India, Germany, Chile, Canada, France, Italy, Philippines, Ghana, Indonesia, Switzerland and United Kingdom. Currently, the panel is chaired by the Comptroller and Auditor General of the UK.

4. Shaktikanta Das appointed RBI Governor

 A day after the sudden resignation of Governor Urjit Patel, the Modi administration appointed former bureaucrat Shaktikanta Das as the 25th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).  The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Shri Shaktikanta Das, IAS Retd., former Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, as Governor, Reserve Bank of India, for a period of three years.

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Weekly Capsule Week 2 of December

 Mr. Das is currently a member of the Fifteenth Finance Commission and represents India at the G-20 in the role of a sherpa.

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Weekly Capsule Week 2 of December

Person/Event/Award

1. International Civil Aviation Day

 In 1996 the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed that 7 December was to be the International Civil Aviation Day.  The purpose of International Civil Aviation Day is to help generate and reinforce worldwide awareness of the importance of international civil aviation to the social and economic development of States, and of the unique role of ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization.

 The International Civil Aviation Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations.  It codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth. Its headquarter is in Montreal, Canada.

2. Gautam Gambhir announced retirement

 After 15 years of international cricket for India, World Cup winner Gautam Gambhir has announced his retirement from all formats of cricket.  Gambhir retires after last playing for the country in 2016 against England in Rajkot. He scored 4154 runs in Test cricket from 58 matches, 5238 runs in ODIs and 932 in T20Is.

3. Mexican model crowned

 A Mexican model and volunteer Vanessa Ponce de Leon, 26, was crowned Miss World in Chinese island of Hainan.  She was crowned as the 68th Miss World by last year‟s winner, Manushi Chhillar of India, in the coastal city of Sanya.First runner up was Thailand‟s Nicolene Pichapa Limsnukan, a 20-year-old studying business administration.  Maria Vasilevich, Miss Kadijah Robinson and Miss Quiin Abenakyo were among the final five.

4. Mushirul Hasan no more

 Eminent historian and former Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Milia Islamia Mushirul Hasan passed away.  In 2002, Hasan was elected as the President of the Indian History Congress. He also served as the Director-General of the National Archives of India.

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Weekly Capsule Week 2 of December

5. Khashoggi among journalists honoured by Time

 Time magazine named a group of journalists, including Jamal Khashoggi and a pair of journalists imprisoned by Myanmar, as its “Person of the Year”, in a cover story headlined “The Guardians and the War on Truth.”  The honour went to a series of journalists including Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo who the government of Myanmar convicted under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act. Also honoured was Saudi journalist Khashoggi, who was killed two months ago at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

6. The Dark Room bags Suvarna Chakoram

 Iranian film The Dark Room, directed by Rouhollah Hejazi, won the Suvarna Chakoram (Golden Crow Pheasant) award at the 23rd International Film Festival of Kerala.  Malayalam film Ee Maa Yau, directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery, won the Rajatha Chakoram (Silver Crow Pheasant) award for the best director. The film also won the Audience Poll award for the best film and the Network for Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) award for the best Asian film in the competition category.  The Rajatha Chakoram award for debut director was won by Anamika Haksar for her film Taking the Horse to Eat Jelabis.The awards were presented by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan..

“A champion is defined not by their wins but by how they can recover when they fall.” – Serena Williams

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Weekly Capsule Week 2 of December

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