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.12.2018 NATIONAL Odisha CM Naveen patnaik.2018 inaugurated new hockey academy in Bhubaneswar  Chief Minister of Odisha Shri Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the Naval Tata Hockey Academy (NTHA) at the Kalinga.11.2018 stadium, in the state capital Bhubaneswar, as a move to bring more sports talents and young Olympians from the state.  NTHA was opened as three-pronged Tata Odisha Hockey programme, a joint initiative of Tata Steel, Tata Trust and govt. of Odisha. The State Government will facilitate infrastructural support and Tata Trust will provide coaching and technical support. CORAS of Indian railways launched by railway minister PiyushGoyal  CORAS (Commandos For Railway Security), a special railway unit for the Indian railways and a new establishment manual for the Railway Protection Force(RPF) was launched by union Railway Minister Shri PiyushGoyal .  It is a seperate Commando unit of the Railway Protection Force. First ever space museum of inaugurated at  The first space museum of India opening new attraction to space enthusiasts, was set up at Hyderabad in association with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The museum is housed in the Birla Science Museum.  The museum which is an initiative of BACRI aims to spread knowledge on science and technology and also as a way to encourage young students to explore the field. Indian Institute of Skills (IIS) will be set up in Mumbai  Dr. MahendraNath Pandey, Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) stated that world-class Indian Institute of Skills (IIS) will be set up in Mumbai, Maharashtra in association with Tata Educational and Development Trust (TEDT) aimed at scaling up of skill training enabling the young generation to acquire skills at par with global standards. World‟s 1st museum dedicated to the life of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu opened in  West Bengal Chief Minister(CM), Mamata Banerjee has opened the World‟s 1st museum dedicated to the life of a 16th-century saint and social reformer, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, designed by the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is named as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu museum. Online revenue payment system launched by CM of Odisha  The chief minister of Odisha Shri Naveen Patnaik, launched online revenue payment system providing people, an easier way to make their land revenue payments-online, on 73rd Independence Day. The Chhattisgarh state government increased reservation for SC and OBC categories in state jobs and education  The Chhattisgarh government announced an increase in the reservation for Scheduled caste (SC) from 12% to 13% and for Other Backward Classes (OBC) from 14% to 27%.  With the increase in quota, the state‟s reservation becomes a total of 72 percent, which is the highest in the country and far above the reservation limit of 50 percent mandated by the Supreme Court. 2nd meeting of High powered panel of CM‟s headed by Devendra Fadnavis for the transformation of Indian agriculture held in Mumbai  The 2nd meeting of Prime Minister NarendraModi formed High Powered Committee (HPC)of chief ministers headed by Maharashtra chief minister DevendraFadnavis for transforming Indian agriculture and raising farmers‟ income, under NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog was held in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Under Swachh Bharat Mission, DEPwD launches San-Sadhan Hackathon for Divyang accessible toilets  Under Swachh Bharat Mission, the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) has launched a nationwide Hackathon called “San-Sadhan” for Divyang/ physically challenged people accessible toilets, which will be held in New Delhi.

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 It aimed to enhance.12.2018 sensitivity and develop an ecosystem for creating a barrier-free environment. Tamil Nadu‟s Vellore District.2018 Trifurcated Into New Districts „Ranipet&Tirupattur‟; Total Districts in State Rise to 37  Tamil Nadu Chief .11.2018Minister K Palaniswami has announced that Vellore district of the state will be trifurcated into three.  Two other new districts will be carved out from Vellore namely Ranipet and Tirupattur, while Vellore will continue to function as a separate district. Manipur CM launched “School Fagadaba” Scheme  Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has launched a scheme named “School Fagadaba” to improve the infrastructure of government schools in the state.  The objective of the “School Fagadaba” Scheme is to ensure better infrastructure, quality education and overall improvement of government schools to make them model schools. FSSAI made food safety audit mandatory for 6 categories of foods  Food regulator FSSAI has made safety audit mandatory for 06 category of business which includes: (i) Dairy Products (ii) Meat Products (iii) Fish and fish products (iv) Egg and egg products (v) Food for infant nutritions and (vi) Prepared foods (catering).  The food companies dealing in such products should get a safety audit done by a recognized audit agency at intervals specified by FSSAI. INTERNATIONAL 14th KONKAN exercise between Indian and Britain Navy began in the UK  The 14th Edition of KONKAN exercise between Indian Navy and Royal Navy of Britain has started at the South Coast of UK. It is an annual bilateral exercise. The BASIC countries held its 28th Ministerial meeting on Climate Change from 14th to 16th August in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Shri Prakash Javadekar represented India.  The BASIC countries include Brazil, South Africa, India and China.  This was a preparatory meeting in view of United Nations Framework for Climate Change (UNFCC) Conference of Parties (COP-25) to be held in Santiago, Chile in December 2019. ECONOMY Tawlhlohpuan&MizoPuanchei from Mizoram and Tirur Betel Leaf from Kerala Gets GI Tag  The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade(DIPP), Government of India(GoI) has granted Geographical Indication (GI) tag for 3 new products from two states.  Tawlhlohpuan(a woven fabric) and MizoPuanchei(a colourfulMizo shawl) from the State of Mizoram and Tirur betel vine from Kerala are the latest addition in the GI list.  Tawlhlohpuan is a compactly woven, good quality fabric for weaving while MizoPuanchei is a colourfulMizo shawl/textile.  Tirur betel vine is known for its mild stimulant action and medicinal properties. India‟s forex reserves at new life-time high of $430.57 bn: RBI data  As per Reserve Bank of India‟s Data, India‟s foreign exchange reserves surged by $1.620 billion to $430.572 billion on rise in foreign currency assets. This is the lifetime high of India‟s foreign asset. Banks to identify at least one branch in a State for Gold Monetisation Scheme: RBI  The Reserve Bank of India has issued an amendment to the Gold Monetization Scheme, 2015. As per the amendment:  Banks have to identify at least one branch in a State/Union Territory where they have presence to accept the deposits under the Scheme.  All deposits under the scheme shall be made at the Collection and Purity Testing Centre (CPTC).  The Gold Monetisation Scheme intended to mobilise gold held by households and institutions of the country and facilitate its use for productive purposes, and in the long run, to reduce country‟s reliance on the import of gold.

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Failed ATM transactions .12.2018not to be counted under Free ATM Transactions: RBI  The Reserve Bank .2018of India has issued a clarification to the commercial banks that the transactions that have failed due to technical reasons, non-availability of currency in ATMs, etc. shall not be counted as valid ATM.11.2018 transactions for the customer. Consequently, no charges therefor shall be levied.  The various circumstances under which the transactions should not be counted as valid ATM transactions for the customer has been listed by RBI as under:  transactions which fail on account of technical reasons like hardware, software, communication issues;  non-availability of currency notes in the ATM;  other declines ascribable directly / wholly to the bank/service provider;  invalid PIN / validations;  Non-cash withdrawal transactions (such as balance enquiry, cheque book request, payment of taxes, funds transfer, etc.), which constitute „on-us‟ transactions (i.e., when a card is used at an ATM of the bank which has issued the card) shall also not be part of the number of free ATM transactions. Number of Free transactions mandated by RBI: (remember that banks can offer more free transactions than this, but not less)  Transactions at a bank‟s own ATMs (On-Us transactions) at any location (metro or non- metro): minimum of five free transactions in a month  Transactions at any other banks‟ ATMs (Off-Us transactions) at Metro locations: Minimum Three per month (Valid for six metro cities Mumbai, New Delhi, , Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad)  Transactions at any other banks‟ ATMs (Off-Us transactions) at Non-Metro locations: Minimum five free transactions in a month. ANZ Banking Group predicts India‟s GDP growth forecast at 6.2% in 2019-20  The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) has predicted India‟s GDP growth at 6.2% for FY20. Earlier it has predicted the growth rate at 6.5%.  For FY21, ANZ has predicted India‟s GDP growth rate at 6.5%. Lending by banks to NBFCs for On-Lending to be classified as Priority Sector Lending  On-lending means When an organization lends money that they have borrowed from another organization or person. Example, when NBFC borrows money from bank to lend that money to customers, it is known as on-lending.  As per instructions from RBI, the bank credit to registered NBFCs (other than MFIs) for on- lending will be eligible for classification as priority sector under following category:  Agriculture: Limit- up to Rs. 10 lakh per borrower.  Micro & Small enterprises: Limit- up to Rs. 20 lakh per borrower.  Housing: limit- uptoRs. 20 lakh per borrower. (increased from Rs 10 lakh)  Bank credit to NBFCs for On-Lending will be allowed upto a limit of five percent of individual bank‟s total priority sector lending on an ongoing basis. Aditya Puri is the highest-paid bank CEO  Aditya Puri, the MD and CEO of HDFC Bank is the highest paid bank chief executive in India with a monthly basic salary of Rs 89 lakh in FY19.  Amitabh Chaudhry (Axis Bank CEO), who took over the position in January, was second at a basic monthly salary of Rs 30 lakh. PERSON IN NEWS  The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, Government of India (GoI) has made Harshad Pandurang Thakur as the Director of National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW).

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 Cricket Advisory Committee.12.2018 (CAC) headed by Kapil Dev, former Indian cricketer, unanimously re-appointed Ravi Shastri.2018 as the head coach of the Indian men‟s cricket team for 2 years, ending with the 2021 T20 (Twenty 20) World Cup in India. .11.2018 SPORTS AND GAME  FIFA banned former Nigeria coach Samson Siasia for lifetime  Liverpool surpassed Chelsea 5-4 on penalties to win the 2019 UEFA Super Cup held at Vodafone Park Stadium, Istanbul in Turkey .The UEFA Super Cup is organized by UEFA and contested by the winning champions of the two main European club competitions, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. Kohli become first batsman to score 20,000 international runs in a decade  Virat Kohli has become the first batsman to score 20,000 international runs in a single decade. Kohli had made his debut for India in 2008.  Earlier, Australia‟s former skipper Ricky Ponting held the record for scoring most international runs in a decade with 18,962 runs. Gymnast Simone Biles Become First Woman To Land Triple-Double  American gymnast Simone Biles made history as she landed a triple twisting double flip, commonly known as a triple-double at the U.S. Gymnastics Championship, in Kansas City of Missouri, US. With this she has become the first woman to do so in women‟s gymnastics competition.  The Indian Army team participated for the 1st time& has emerged as the winner among 8 teams in five stages of the 5th edition of „International Army Scout Masters Competition 2019‟ held in Jaisalmer Military Station, Rajasthan. AWARDS AND HONOURS  ISRO chairman K.Sivan conferred with A.P.J. Abdul Kalam award  Actor Steve Coogan to be honoured with 2019 Charlie Chaplin award constituted by BAFTA LA  Rajasthan wins best innovation awards at 14th World Education Summit-2019  Renowned journalist and consulting editor at India Today TV Rajdeep Sardesai has been awarded the 2019 Prem Bhatia Award for Outstanding Political Reporting.  Iqbal Chand Malhotra and Maroof Raza Pens Book Titled „Kashmir‟s Untold Story: Declassified‟ IMPORTANT DAYS India Observed 73rd Independence Day on 15 August 2019  India celebrated 73rd Independence Day on 15 August 2019.Prime Minister NarendraModi hoisted the national flag at Red Fort in Delhi and addressed the nation.  India attained its freedom on August 15, 1947 after nearly 200-year-long British rule. Obituaries  Veteran actress Vidya Sinha passed away  Former Indian opening batsman V.B. Chandrasekhar passed away  Veteran journalist and senior anchor at Doordarshan (DD) News, Neelum Sharma passed after suffering from cancer. ONELINER  Air India is the first Indian Airline to fly over Zero Degree North Pole.  IIT Hyderabad, NIT Jalandhar Researchers develop Bone Implant Materials From waste Eggshells.

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