Current Affairs: December 01, 2018
December 01, 2018
President of India Inaugurates the 2nd International Ambedkar Conclave in Delhi
The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind,
inaugurated the 2nd International Ambedkar
Conclave on 30th November in New Delhi as part
of the commemoration of Constitution Day. The
Conclave is being organised by the Forum of SC
and ST Legislators and Parliamentarians and the
Dr. Ambedkar Chamber of Commerce.
Cope India 2019: India, US air exercise to be held in West Bengal
Air forces of the United States and India are
scheduled to participate in a 12-day joint
exercise 'Cope India 2019' at two air force
stations in West Bengal next month, the US
Consulate said. The exercise will be held
from December 3 to 14 at Air Station
Kalaikunda and Air Station Arjan Singh (Panagarh). The Cope India exercise is being held after
a gap of eight years, with the last one having taken place in 2010.
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Current Affairs: December 01, 2018
India’s first owl fest, held in Pune
From 29th to 30th November 2018, the Indian
Owl Festival, India’s first owl fest, was held at
Pingori village in Purandar taluka of Pune,
Maharashtra. The festival was organized by
Ela Foundation. It created awareness on owl
conservation and feature art forms like
pictures, paintings, lanterns, lamp shades, posters, origami, stitched articles, poems and stories
on owls.
GDP growth drops to 7.1% in Q2; core industries rise to 4.8%
India's economy grew at 7.1% for the second
quarter (July-September) of 2018-19 from 8.2%
in the 1st quarter (April-June) according to
data released by Central Statistics Office on
30th November. These estimates represent a
sizable jump from last year’s second quarter
growth rate estimates, indicating sustained acceleration in country's economic growth. The
Gross Domestic Product, GDP at constant prices had grown at 6.3% in July-September quarter
of the last fiscal. In another set of data released by the government, the growth of eight
infrastructure sectors accelerated to 4.8% in October from 4.3% in September. https://examprep.talentsprint.com 2
Current Affairs: December 01, 2018
Dr. Ajay Bhushan Pandey takes over as Revenue Secretary
Dr. Ajay Bhushan Pandey on 30th November took
over as the Revenue Secretary of the country. Dr.
Pandey is a Maharashtra cadre office of Indian
Administrative Services of 1994. He will continue to
head the UIDAI as its CEO and will also hold his
position as the chairman of Goods and Services Tax
Network.
Abhinav Bindra becomes first Indian to get highest shooting honour - The Blue Cross
Ace Indian shooter Abhinav Bindra added yet
another feather to his illustrious cap. The 36 year old
who is still India's only individual Olympic gold
medallist was awarded the coveted ISSF Blue Cross
on 30th November. The Blue Cross is the highest
recognition conferred by the parent body of
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Current Affairs: December 01, 2018
international shooting, the ISSF. The award is conferred for outstanding contribution to the
sport of shooting and honours distinguished members of the international shooting fraternity.
ISSF Headquarters: Munich, Germany
13-year old Esha Singh bags hat-trick of gold medals in Shooting Championship
Telangana’s 13-year-old Esha Singh created history
by winning three gold medals in the ongoing 62nd
National Shooting Championship Competitions
(NSCC) at the Vattiyoorkavu Shooting Range,
Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala on 29th November.
The youngster won gold in the 10m air pistol senior
women, 10m air pistol junior and 10m air pistol junior categories.
Ankita Raina-Karman Thandi pair wins Pune Open doubles crown
Karman Kaur Thandi brought her 'A' game to the
fore at the right time to get the better of Ankita Raina
before combining with her to lift the doubles crown
in the $25,000 ITF Pune Open women's tennis
championships in Pune on 30th November.
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Current Affairs: December 01, 2018
PM Modi, US President Trump & Japan PM Abe participate in 1st ever ‘JAI' trilateral
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President
Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe on 30th November held their first trilateral
meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in
Buenos Aires, amidst China flexing its muscles in
the strategic Indo-Pacific region. Prime Minister
Modi said, "When you look at the acronym of our
three countries Japan, America, and India it is 'JAI', which stands for success in Hindi." The
prime minister said the 'JAI' meeting was a convergence of vision between the three nations.
"This is a very good occasion for the three countries which have shared values, democratic
values. We will continue to play a big role together for world peace, prosperity and stability," he
said.
Georgia elects Salome Zurabishvili as first woman president
Salome Zurabishvili has won Georgia's
presidential election, becoming the first
woman to hold the office. With nearly all votes
counted, the French-born ex-diplomat had 59%
of the vote with rival Grigol Vashadze on 40%.
Ms. Zurabishvili was backed by the ruling https://examprep.talentsprint.com 5
Current Affairs: December 01, 2018
Georgian Dream party, while M.r Vashadze was a united opposition candidate.
Capital : Tbilisi
Currency: Georgian Lari
Maldives Parliament passes motion to repeal age limit of presidential candidacy
Maldives Parliament has passed a motion with the
required three-fourths majority to repeal the age
limit of the presidential candidacy. The motion
which proposed to repeal the constitutional
amendment banning those above 65 years of age
from contesting the presidential elections, was
passed 72 members voting in its favour in 85-member Majlis. It states that only those aged 35
and above will be allowed to contest for Presidency.
Capital: Male
Currency: Maldivian Rufiyaa
World AIDS Day: 1 December
World AIDS Day is celebrated around the
world on December 1st each year. It has become
one of the most recognized international health
days and a key opportunity to raise awareness,
commemorate those who have passed on, and
celebrate victories, such as increased access to
treatment and prevention services. On 1 December 2018, WHO will join global partners to
commemorate World AIDS Day under the theme “Know your status”. https://examprep.talentsprint.com 6
Current Affairs: December 01, 2018
Former US President HW Bush, who steered America through Cold War, dies at 94
Former US president George HW Bush, who
helped steer America through the end of the Cold
War, died on 30th November at age 94, his family
announced. George Herbert Walker Bush is an
American politician who served as the 41st
President of the United States from 1989 to 1993.
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Current Affairs: December 02, 2018
December 02-03, 2018
President of India Inaugurates 13th Edition Of CII Agro Tech India - 2018 in Chandigarh
The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind,
inaugurated the 13th edition of CII Agro Tech
India-2018 on 1st December in Chandigarh.
Speaking on the occasion, the President said that
Indian agriculture needs a renewal of its
marriage with contemporary technology;
protection against climate change, price fluctuations and demand shocks; and sustained
investment by and partnership with business.
15th India Health Summit held in New Delhi
From 29th - 30th November 2018, The leading industry
body, Confederation of Indian industry (CII)
organized its Annual Flagship, 15th India Health
Summit-2018 in New Delhi. The theme of the summit
this year is ‘Indian Healthcare – A Changing
Paradigm’.
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Current Affairs: December 02, 2018
Rajnath Singh inaugurates 19th Hornbill festival in Nagaland
In Nagaland, the 19th edition of the Hornbill
Festival 2018 began with a colourful extravaganza
of music and dance on 1st December. Inaugurating
the opening ceremony this evening, Union Home
Minister Rajnath Singh conveyed his greetings to
the people of Nagaland on the occasion of
Statehood Day which attained statehood on 1st
December, 1963.
FSSAI launches ‘Heart Attack Rewind’ campaign for trans fat elimination by 2022
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of
India (FSSAI) has launched a new mass media
campaign calling for the elimination of
industrially produced trans fat in the food
supply. Called “Heart Attack Rewind”- the
first mass media campaign of its kind – will
support FSSAI’s global target of eliminating trans fat in India by the year 2022, a year ahead of
the global target by the World Health Organization (WHO) for complete elimination of trans
fat, a statement said. “Heart Attack Rewind” warns citizens about the health hazards of
consuming trans fat and offers strategies to avoid them through healthier alternatives.
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Current Affairs: December 02, 2018
GST collections drop to Rs 97,637 crore in November
Goods and Services (GST) collection in November
dropped to Rs 97,637 crore, which less than October.
The GST collections stood at Rs 1.03 lakh crore in
April, Rs 94,016 crore in May, Rs 95,610 crore in June,
Rs 96,483 crore in July, Rs 93,960 crore in August, Rs
94,442 crore in September and Rs 1,00,710 crore in
October.
Bank of Maharashtra appoints AS Rajeev as MD, CEO
State-owned Bank of Maharashtra on 2nd December
announced that A S Rajeev has joined the lender as
its Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer. "A
S Rajeev has joined Bank of Maharashtra as Managing
Director & Chief Executive Officer on 2nd December
2018. Prior to this, he was Executive Director of
Indian Bank from 22 January 2016," the lender said in a release.
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Current Affairs: December 02, 2018
Raninder Singh becomes first Indian to be elected ISSF’s vice-president
Raninder Singh became the first Indian to be elected
as the vice-president of the International Shooting
Sport Federation (ISSF) on 1st December. The 51-year-
old Raninder is currently the president of the National
Rifle Association of India (NRAI).
ISSF Headquarters: Munich, Germany
India to host G-20 summit for the first time in 2022
PM Narendra Modi on 1st December said India
will host the G-20 Summit in 2022, the year the
country will celebrate the 75th Independence
Day. The announcement was made at the
closing ceremony of the two-day summit held
in Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires. Italy was
to host the international forum in 2022. Thanking Italy for allowing India to play the host, Modi
invited G-20 leaders to India in 2022, which also marks the 75th anniversary of India’s
Independence.
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Current Affairs: December 02, 2018
UN conference on climate change begins in Poland
The 24th meeting of Conference of Parties (COP-
24) to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has
begun at Katowice, Poland on 2nd December. The
Conference will continue till 14th of this month.
COP-24 is very significant as it is expected to
finalise guidelines for implementation of the
Paris Agreement adopted in 2016.
President: Andrzej Duda
Capital: Warsaw
Currency: Polish złoty
World Bank unveils USD 200 bn in climate action investment for 2021-25
The World Bank has unveiled 200 billion US
Dollars in climate action investment for 2021 to
2025, adding that this amounts to a doubling of its
current five-year funding. The move coincides
with a UN climate summit in Katowice.
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Current Affairs: December 02, 2018
Asia Pacific Summit-2018 begins in Kathmandu
The Asia Pacific Summit-2018 has started in
Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. The theme of
two day Summit is "Addressing the Critical
Challenges of Our Time: Interdependence, Mutual
Prosperity, and Universal Values".
Capital: Kathmandu
Prime minister: Khadga Prasad Oli
Currency: Nepalese rupee
President: Bidhya Devi Bhandari
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador sworn in as Mexican president
The 65-year-old left wing nationalist attacked
neoliberalism as he pledged to initiate a “fourth
transformation of Mexico” in a combative speech,
promising a radical change of course in a country
struggling with gang violence, poverty and
corruption.
Capital: Mexico City
Currency: Mexican Peso
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Current Affairs: December 02, 2018
Australia the first country in the World to recognise ‘orphanage trafficking’ as slavery
Australia became the first country in the world to
criminalize the act of falsely inducing children
into orphanages as a form of slavery. The Modern
Slavery Bill was passed by both houses of
parliament and under it the new law, so-called
“orphanage trafficking” will be treated as a
slavery and trafficking offense.
Cambridge Dictionary declares ‘Nomophobia’ as People’s Word of 2018
Like many modern coinages, nomophobia is what’s
called a blend: a new word made up of syllables from
two or more words, in this case ‘no mobile phone
phobia.' “Yes, the word of the year basically
translates to the “fear or worry at the idea of being
without your mobile phone or unable to use it”. The
study also showed that out of the 58% men and 47% women suffered from the phobia. So, all in
all, if you feel like you’re using your smartphone a bit too much or can’t go 3 hours without it,
it’s time to put it down and take a walk in the park. No, not the metaphorical one. A real one
with real people and real trees in it. Or else Akshay Kumar is gonna come and take away your
mobiles.
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Current Affairs: December 02, 2018
International Day of Persons with Disabilities: 3 December
It aims to promote the rights and well-being of persons
with disabilities in all spheres of society and
development, and to increase awareness of the situation
of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political,
social, economic and cultural life.
2018 Theme: Empowering persons with disabilities and
ensuring inclusiveness and equality
International Day for the Abolition of Slavery: 2 December
Slavery is not merely a historical relic. According to
the International Labour Organisation (ILO) more
than 40 million people worldwide are victims of
modern slavery. Although modern slavery is not
defined in law, it is used as an umbrella term
covering practices such as forced labour, debt
bondage, forced marriage, and human trafficking.
Fundamental Rights of Indian Constitution: Article 23 - Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour
Article 24 - Prohibition of employment of children in factories, etc.
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Current Affairs: December 04, 2018
December 04, 2018
Indian Navy Day: 4 December
The Indian Navy is the marine branch of the
Indian Armed Forces and is led by the
President of India as Commander-in-Chief.
Navy Day is celebrated annually on December
4 every year to honour the maritime operations
by the Navy during the 1971 Indo-Pak war and
also work towards securing the country's marine borders and bolstering relationships with
other countries through humanitarian missions, calamity relief and joint exercises.
Odisha launches PEETHA to create awareness about various schemes
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik 3rd December
launched a new scheme named People’s
Empowerment – Enabling Transparency
and Accountability of Odisha Initiatives
(PEETHA) in the state. “This is an initiative
aimed at creation of awareness about
various government schemes and improve transparency in distribution of individual and social
benefits,” the Chief Minister told reporters here. This is part of the government’s 3T initiative–
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Current Affairs: December 04, 2018
Technology, Transparency and Teamwork and a sub-scheme of Ama Gaon Ama Bikas
programme, he said.
International Conference on Bears starts in Agra
In Uttar Pradesh, more than 80 delegates from
11 countries are participating in an
international conference on bears in Agra.
The four-day conference is aimed at sharing
knowledge on principles of the welfare of
bears and other wild animals in zoos,
sanctuaries and rescue centres.
Maharashtra allows citizens to inspect government records under RTI
The Maharashtra government has issued a
government resolution allowing citizens to
inspect records in district-level offices and local
bodies across the state under the Right To
Information (RTI) for two hours every Monday.
Officials from the General Administration
Department (GAD) said the move was aimed at bringing transparency in the functioning of the
government and to reduce RTI applications and appeals.
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Current Affairs: December 04, 2018
EX SHINYUU Maitri-2018 with JASDF commences in Agra
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 Dec 18 at A F
Station Agra. The theme of the exercise is joint
Mobility/Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster
Relief (HADR) on Transport aircraft.
SEBI extends deadline for transfer of shares in demat form to 1 April, 2019
Markets regulator SEBI on 3rd December extended the
deadline for transfer of shares of listed companies only
in demat form to April 1. The last date has been
extended after taking into consideration
representations from shareholders as the initial
deadline was to end on December 5. Shares in the
demat form will help in maintaining a transparent record of shareholding at companies amid
rising concerns over beneficial ownership of entities.
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Current Affairs: December 04, 2018
Union Govt forms panel to look at selling of OIL, ONGC fields to private companies
The government has constituted a six-member
committee to look at selling as many as 149 small and
marginal oil and gas fields of state-owned ONGC
and OIL to private and foreign companies to boost
domestic output, sources said. The panel is headed
by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar and
includes Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, Oil
Secretary M M Kutty, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant and ONGC Chairman and Managing
Director Shashi Shanker.
80th Session of the Policy Commission of the World Customs Organization (WCO) begins in Mumbai
The 80th Session of the Policy Commission
of the World Customs Organization (WCO)
has started today at Hotel Taj Mahal Palace
in Mumbai. The 3-day long session is hosted
by Central Board of Indirect Taxes &
Customs (CBIC) and is being attended by
Customs heads of 31 countries from all the six regions of the WCO. The session was addressed
by the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley via video link.
World Customs Organization (WCO) HQ: Brussels, Belgium
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Current Affairs: December 04, 2018
Ajay Narayan Jha is the new Finance Secretary
A N Jha, Secretary, Expenditure, has been
appointed as new Finance Secretary, a
government order said on 3rd December, December
3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi led
Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has
cleared Jha's appointment to the post after
incumbent Hasmukh Adhia, a 1981-batch Gujarat cadre officer of the Indian Administrative
Service (IAS), retired on November 30.
IL&FS Group appoints N Sivaraman as COO
Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services
(IL&FS), on 3rd December, announced the
appointment of N Sivaraman, a former L&T
Group veteran, as Chief Operating Officer. The
COO, who has expertise in mergers and
acquisitions as well as building a financial
services institution, will be a part of the Core
Operating Committee. He will report to Vineet Nayyar, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director,
IL&FS Group.
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Current Affairs: December 04, 2018
GoI and ADB sign $85 million loan to support Odisha Skill Development Project
The Government of India and the Asian
Development Bank (ADB) signed a $85 million loan
on 03.12.2018 to improve the skill development
ecosystem in Odisha and establish an advanced skill
training center, the World Skill Center (WSC), in the
state capital Bhubaneswar.
Russia’s Manned Soyuz MS 11 successfully blasts off towards ISS
Russia's state space agency, Roscosmos, successfully
launched the manned Soyuz MS 11 spacecraft from
the Baikonur Cosmodrome with Russian cosmonaut
Oleg Kononenko, Canadian space agency's astronaut
David Saint-Jacques and NASA's Anne McClain
towards the International Space Station (ISS) on 3rd
December.
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Current Affairs: December 04, 2018
Delhi minister Imran Hussain gets PETA 'Hero to Animals' award for banning Chinese manjha
Delhi Minister of Food Supplies, Environment
and Forest and Elections Imran Hussain was
awarded by the People for the Ethical Treatment
of Animals (PETA)-India for banning the
Chinese manjha, or the glass-coated kite strings,
across Delhi -- on December 1. The award, named
'Hero to Animals,' was also given to three other individuals and companies that have pushed
animal rights forward.
Luka Modric wins Ballon d’Or, ending decade of Ronaldo and Messi triumphs
Luka Modric, the diminutive midfield maestro who
won the Champions League title with Real Madrid
and then helped lead Croatia to the World Cup final,
was honored 3rd December with the Ballon d’Or as
world player of the year. Modric’s victory ended a
10-year run in which Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel
Messi traded possession of the award, considered one of world soccer’s top individual honors.
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Current Affairs: December 04, 2018
Ullas Narayan clinches India’s first-ever medal in ultra running
Ullas Narayan on Sunday became the first ever
medal winner from India in an international ultra
running event by bagging the bronze medal in the
2018 International Association of Ultra Running
(IAU) 24-Hour Asia and Oceania Championships. He
ended in the third place by completing a distance of
250 km after Japanese runners Yoshihiko Ishikawa (253 km) and Nobuyuki Takahashi (252
km).
Qatar to withdraw from OPEC in January 2019
Qatar announced on 3rd December that it will
withdraw from the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries in January, as the Persian
Gulf state faces a prolonged regional clash with
rival Saudi Arabia. Qatar framed the surprise
decision, which ended nearly six decades of
membership in OPEC, as a move to focus the country’s resources on exports of liquefied natural
gas. The decision also comes amid a more than year-long feud between Qatar and its neighbors. https://examprep.talentsprint.com 8
Current Affairs: December 04, 2018
Led by Saudi Arabia, a coalition of Arab Gulf states broke off relations with Qatar and imposed
an economic and travel blockade in June 2017 after accusing Qatar’s government of sponsoring
terrorism.
Qatar Capital: Doha, Currency: Qatari Riyal
OPEC HQ: Vienna, Austria
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Current Affairs: December 05, 2018
December 05, 2018
India’s heaviest communication satellite GSAT-11 launched successfully from French Guiana
Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO)
heaviest and most-advanced high throughput
communication satellite GSAT-11 was
successfully launched from the Spaceport in
French Guiana during the early hours today.
The launch vehicle Ariane 5 VA-246 lifted off
from Kourou Launch Base, French Guiana at 02:07 am (IST) carrying India’s GSAT-11 and
South Korea’s GEO-KOMPSAT-2A satellites, as scheduled. Ariane 5 is one of three launch
vehicles operated by Arianespace along with Soyuz and Vega.
ISRO Chairman: K Sivan
India's first Fully Private Satellite ‘ExseedSAT-1’ placed in orbit by SpaceX
The ExseedSat-1, which was fully conceived,
designed and made by Indian start-up Exseed Space
without taking any help from the state-owned space
agency ISRO, built with the contributions of several
ham operators and with the help of small Indian
firms, is expected to play a major role during natural https://examprep.talentsprint.com 1
Current Affairs: December 05, 2018
disasters as it facilitates effective two-way communication through a simple hand-held walkie-
talkie with a beam antenna. Euphoria gripped India's southern city of Hyderabad on 4th
December after SpaceX announced that all 64 satellites on board the Falcon-9 rocket had been
successfully placed on orbit.
Delhi government launches 'One' card for commute on metro, buses
The Delhi government on 3rd December 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% discount. Known as 'One', the
newly designed card will be available for sale on
all Delhi Metro stations and DTC pass counters from 4th December.
HDFC Bank launches ‘DigidhanYatra’ in J&K
HDFC Bank on 4th December launched
‘DigidhanYatra’ in Jammu and Kashmir.
‘DigidhanYatra’ is an educational film created by
the bank to raise awareness on the dangers of
borrowing money from the unorganised sector,
particularly in rural areas. This film has been https://examprep.talentsprint.com 2
Current Affairs: December 05, 2018
launched under the aegis of Swachh Banking, HDFC’s latest CSR initiative.
Unilever gets Boost with Horlicks
India’s largest consumer goods company Hindustan
Unilever Ltd (HUL) is set to become the country’s
largest listed foods company, powered by a Rs. 31,700
crore all-stock acquisition of GlaxoSmithKline
Consumer Healthcare Ltd that will give the local unit
of Unilever brands such as Horlicks, Boost and Viva.
SBI ropes in Swapna Barman as brand ambassador for YONO
State Bank of India has roped in Asian Games
gold medalist Swapna Barman as brand
ambassador for its digital app YONO. YONO,
the bank's digital platform that makes both
lifestyle and banking available through a single
app, was launched exactly a year back. Swapna
won gold medal in Heptathlon in Jakarta Asian Games with a score of 6026 and is looking to
break the 6200 score barrier to qualify for Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
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Current Affairs: December 05, 2018
Anushka shrivastava of Sagar Public School, Bhopal receives APJ Abdul Kalam IGNITE18 Award
Anushka Shrivastava, student of Sagar Public
School, Saket Nagar, Bhopal received APJ Abdul
Kalam IGNITE 2018 award by Pranab
Mukherjee, former President of India in Gandhi
Nagar. The competition is organized by the
National Innovation Foundation (NIF) in which
over 90,000 submissions of students from 643 districts of all States and Union Territories of
India were received out of which only 21 projects got selected in 2018.
Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu awards Miss Deaf Asia 2018 Nishtha Dudeja
On the occasion of International Day of Disabled
persons (3rd December), Vice President M
Venkaiah Naidu awarded Miss Deaf Asia 2018
Nishtha Dudeja the 'National Award for
Empowerment of Disabled persons (Divyangjan)
at Vigyan Bhawan. She was awarded under the
'Role Model' category for her overall achievement and excellence in the fields of education,
sports and art & culture.
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Current Affairs: December 05, 2018
World’s first baby born via womb transplant from dead donor
A woman in Brazil who received a womb
transplanted from a deceased donor has given
birth to a baby girl in the first successful case of its
kind, doctors reported. The case, published in The
Lancet medical journal, involved connecting veins
from the donor uterus with the recipient’s veins, as
well as linking arteries, ligaments and vaginal canals. It comes after 10 previously known cases
of uterus transplants from deceased donors - in the United States, the Czech Republic and
Turkey - failed to produce a live birth.
Gautam Gambhir announces retirement from all forms of cricket
Former India opening batsman Gautam Gambhir
has announced his retirement from all forms of
Cricket, saying his time to continue with the game is
over. The 37-year-old Delhi batsman announced his
decision in a video post on his Twitter handle.
Gambhir played in 58 Tests between 2004 and 2016,
scoring 4,154 runs at an average of 41.95, with the help of nine hundreds and 22 fifties. https://examprep.talentsprint.com 5
Current Affairs: December 05, 2018
IPL: Delhi Daredevils renamed as Delhi Capitals
Delhi Daredevils was renamed as Delhi Capitals on
4th December with a hope that it would bring a
change in fortunes of the franchise after a poor track
record over the past 11 IPL seasons. Co-owners Parth
Jindal, representing JSW Sport, and Kiran Kumar
Grandhi of GMR, unveiled the new name of the
team. Shreyas Iyer will continue to lead the team
despite the presence of Shikhar Dhawan. Dhawan returns to Delhi for the 2019 season after
being traded by Sunrisers Hyderabad. Australian great Ricky Ponting will continue to coach
the team.
World Soil Day: 5 December
While we can see many of the changes we have
made to our planet, some of our impacts are
virtually invisible, and soil pollution is a good
example. Be the Solution to Soil Pollution
campaign for World Soil Day 2018 aims to
raise awareness and call people to
#StopSoilPollution. One third of our global soils are already degraded. Yet we risk losing more
due to this hidden danger. Soil pollution can be invisible and seems far away but everyone https://examprep.talentsprint.com 6
Current Affairs: December 05, 2018
everywhere is affected. With a growing population expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, soil
pollution is a worldwide problem which degrades our soils, poisons the food we eat, the water
we drink and the air we breathe.
International Volunteer Day: 5 December
International Volunteer Day (IVD) mandated
by the UN General Assembly, is held each year
on 5 December. It is viewed as a unique chance
for volunteers and organizations to celebrate
their efforts, to share their values, and to
promote their work among their communities,
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), United Nations agencies, government authorities and
the private sector.
IVD 2018 theme – "Volunteers build Resilient Communities"
EAM Swaraj co-chair India-UAE JCM for Economic and Technical Cooperation
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and
Foreign Minister of UAE Sheikh Abdullah bin
Zayed Al Nahyan co-chaired 12th India-UAE Joint
Commission Meeting for Economic and Technical
Cooperation. The leaders held exhaustive
discussions on cooperation in energy, security,
trade, investments, space, defence & consular, among others. Following the talks, India and
UAE signed two documents. While one agreement was signed on Currency Swap, another MoU
was signed for Development Cooperation in Africa. Sushma Swaraj also co-inaugurated the https://examprep.talentsprint.com 7
Current Affairs: December 05, 2018
Gandhi- Zayed digital museum along with the Foreign Minister of UAE Sheikh Abdullah bin
Zayed Al Nahyan.
Currency: United Arab Emirates dirham
Capital: Abu Dhabi
President: Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
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Current Affairs: December 06, 2018
December 06, 2018
Maharashtra CM launches SMART initiative for Agribusiness, Rural Transformation
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.
Delhi CM launches 'Mukhyamantri Teerth Yatra Yojana’ - Free Pilgrimage scheme for Senior Citizens
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on 5th
December launched the 'Mukhyamantri Teerth
Yatra Yojana' under which 1,100 senior citizens
from each of the 70 assembly constituencies in
Delhi can undertake free pilgrimage. Under the
scheme, a Delhi resident above 60 years will be
eligible to take free pilgrimage along with his or https://examprep.talentsprint.com 1
Current Affairs: December 06, 2018
her spouse.
Number of patents granted by India shot up by 50% in 2017: WIPO
On 04th December 2018, according to the UN’s
(United Nations) World Intellectual Property
Organisation (WIPO) The number of patents granted
by India shot up by 50 percent in 2017. The WIPO’s
“World Intellectual Property Indicators 2018” report
released in Geneva. China’s patent authority led the
world in the number of patents granted with 420,144
and was followed by the US with 318,829. India ranked 10th in the number of patents given last
year, no Indian company or university figures in last year’s global list of the top 50 patent
applicants.
WIPO HQ: Geneva, Switzerland
5th Bi-monthly Monetary Policy: RBI keeps all key policy rates unchanged
The Reserve Bank of India, RBI, maintained
status quo on all key policy rates in the fifth
bi-monthly monetary policy review
announced on 5th December. Accordingly,
inflation is projected to be in the range of https://examprep.talentsprint.com 2
Current Affairs: December 06, 2018
2.7% to 3.2% in the second half of this fiscal. Assuming a normal monsoon next year, RBI said
that inflation will likely to stay in the range of 3.8 to 4.2% in the first half of next fiscal. On the
growth front, RBI retained GDP growth rate projection at 7.4% for this fiscal and at 7.5% in the
first half of 2019-20.
The outcome this Monetary Policy review is as follows:
Key Policy Rates:
Repo Rate 6.5%
Reverse Repo rate 6.25%
Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate 6.75%
Bank Rate 6.75%
Reserve Ratios:
CRR 4%
SLR 19.5%
GDP Prediction:
For 2018-19 7.4%
For 2018-19 H2 7.2-7.3%
For 2019-20 H1 7.5%
CPI Inflation:
For 2018-19 H2 2.7-3.2%
For 2019-20 H1 3.8-4.2%
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Current Affairs: December 06, 2018
RBI says that it will reduce the SLR by 0.25% every quarter beginning January next year
The Reserve Bank today said that it will
reduce the statutory liquidity ratio by 0.25
percent every quarter beginning January
next year. Statutory Liquidity Ratio - SLR -
is the portion of funds which banks are
required to maintain in the form of cash,
gold reserves, the government approved securities before providing credit to the customers. In
a statement, RBI said the reduction will continue until it reaches 18 percent from the current
19.5 percent. The move is likely to release funds locked in government securities and add to
lendable liquidity.
ICICI Securities launches eATM instant fund credit feature
ICICI Securities (ISec), a brokerage firm,
launched the ‘eATM’ instant fund credit
feature to enable real-time payments in bank
accounts upon selling stocks in Bombay Stock
Exchange (BSE). This feature is available to
retail investors who can get payment against
sell of stocks in BSE instantly compared to earlier waiting time of T+2 days. The payment is
made directly to the bank accounts to within 30 minutes and the limit is Rs. 50,000 per client per
day.
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Current Affairs: December 06, 2018
Atul Sahai appointed CMD of New India Assurance for 5 years
Atul Sahai has been appointed as the Chairman and
Managing Director (CMD) of the country’s largest
general insurance company New India Assurance.
The post had been lying vacant since July 2018 after
former chairman and managing director G
Srinivasan retired.
NIACL HQ: Mumbai
Ex-Diplomat Preethi Saran elected to UN's Socio-Economic, Cultural Panel
Former senior Indian diplomat Preeti Saran has
been elected unopposed to an Asia Pacific seat on
the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (CESCR) of the UN. The UN's Economic
and Social Council (ECOSOC) elected the recently-
retired External Affairs Ministry Secretary (East) by
acclamation on 5th December to the 18-member committee of experts that monitors the
implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESR).
Ms Saran will begin her four-year term on January 1, after another former Indian diplomat,
Chandrashekhar Dasgupta, completes his third term on the CESCR at the end of this year.
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Current Affairs: December 06, 2018
Sahitya Akademi announces winners in 24 languages
An extensive range of works representing diversity
in contemporary Indian literature, comprising 7
collections of poetry, 6 novels, 6 short story
collections, 3 works of literary criticism and 2
collections of essays were announced on 5th
December as the winners of the prestigious Sahitya
Akademi Award 2018 in 24 languages.
The awards were recommended by jury members in respective languages and were then
approved by the Executive Board of India's national academy of letters under the
chairmanship of Akademi President Chandrashekhar Kambar. Winners include Anees
Saleem in English, Rama Kant Shukla in Sanskrit, Rajesh Kumar Vyas in Rajasthani,
Rahman Abbas in Urdu, Lok Nath Upadhyay in Nepali, Chitra Mughal in Hindi and S.
Ramakrishnan in Tamil.
The Akademi also announced its Bhasha Samman for the year 2017 and 2018. Yogendra
Nath Sharma was awarded the Bhasha Salman for the North zone; G Venkatasubbaiah
for South zone; Gagendra Nath Das for the Eastern zone; and Shailaja Bapat for the
Western zone.
Sahitya Akademi President: Chandrashekhara Kambar
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Current Affairs: December 06, 2018
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx probe arrives on the Asteroid Bennu
After more than two years, NASA’s deep-space
probe OSIRIS-REx has finally come within 12
miles of the asteroid Bennu. The asteroid
sample return from Bennu is exciting to
scientists because it offers a rare glimpse of not
only how our solar system was born 4.5 billions
years ago but also how our planet was created. OSIRIS-REx will return to Earth in 2023.
UAE passport topped the Global Passport Power Rank 2018
Arton Capital launched the passport index
named – Global Passport Power Rank 2018, in
which United Arab Emirates (UAE) topped the
charts, among 197 nations, as the nation having
the most powerful passport. UAE is followed
by Singapore & Germany in the 2nd place with
166 countries. India stood at 66th position. The bottom 5 countries in the list consist of:
Afghanistan at 93rd position, Iraq at 92nd, Pakistan at 91st, Syria at 90th and Somalia at 89th
position. https://examprep.talentsprint.com 7
Current Affairs: December 07-08, 2018
December 07-08, 2018
Union Cabinet Decisions on 6th December:
The Union Cabinet chaired by Narendra Modi
has approved the following:
MoC between India and Japan in the field
of Environmental Cooperation
MoU between India and the USA
concerning Scientific and Technical Cooperation
in the Earth Sciences
MoU between India and France in the field of energy efficiency / energy conservation
Amendment of the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Act, 1951
Agriculture Export Policy, 2018
MoC between India and Japan for Cooperation in the Postal field
MoU between India and Tajkistan on Cooperation on Peaceful uses of Space Technology
for Development
MoU between India and Russia on Joint Activities under Human Spaceflight Programme
Agreement between India and Uzbekistan on Cooperation in the exploration and uses of
Outer Space for peaceful purposes
MoU between India and Zimbabwe for cooperation in the field of geology, mining and
mineral resources
MoU between India and Morocco for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space
Agreement between India and Algeria on Cooperation in the field of Space Sciences,
Technologies and Applications https://examprep.talentsprint.com 1
Current Affairs: December 07-08, 2018
MoU between India and Armenia on joint issue of postage stamp
Memorandum of Cooperation between India and Japan in the field of Healthcare and
Wellness
Implementation of Shahpurkandi Dam (National Project) on river Ravi in Punjab
National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems
Strategic sale of the GoI’s existing 52.63% of total paid up equity shareholding in Rural
Electrification Corporation to Power Finance Corporation
Indian Coast Guard conducted Exercise ‘Clean Sea-2018’ at sea off Port Blair
On December 6, 2018, the Indian Coast Guard
conducted the Regional Level Marine Oil Pollution
Response Exercise titled ‘Clean Sea – 2018’ at sea off
Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
3-day India Water Summit concludes in Delhi
The 3 days India Water Summit concluded in
New Delhi on 8th December. Key issues
including afforestation, biodiversity, and urban
river management, innovation in sewage and
sewerage management were discussed during
the event. During the valedictory session,
Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, U.P Singh emphasized on the creation of a working
group which will help in converting technology to working models. https://examprep.talentsprint.com 2
Current Affairs: December 07-08, 2018
Kolkata-Patna becomes India’s second container cargo sector on Inland Waterways
After the success of container cargo being shipped
from Kolkata to Varanasi earlier this year, Bihar’s
capital Patna will be witness to a new landmark in
India’s Inland Water Transport (IWT) sector with
16 TEUs of container cargo (equivalent to 16
truckloads) belonging to food giants PepsiCo
India and Emami Agrotech Ltd from Kolkata reaching the city’s Gaighat IWT terminal on river
Ganga next week.
Indian Armed Force Flag Day: 07 December
On 7th December, Indian Armed Forces Flag Day was
observed throughout the nation to honour the martyrs
as well as the soldiers who valiantly fight on our
borders to safeguard the country from enemy. Since
1949, 7th December is observed as Indian Armed
Forces Flag Day and Government of India has
constituted ”Armed Forces Flag Day Fund” for the welfare and rehabilitation of the Ex-
servicemen (ESM).
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Current Affairs: December 07-08, 2018
Vice President to release Collection of Selected Speeches by the President- “The Republican Ethic”&“Loktantra Ke Swar”
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on 7th December
released a compilation of selected speeches of
President Ram Nath Kovind titled, "The Republican
Ethic" in English and "Loktantra ke Swar" in Hindi at
a function in New Delhi. The books are collection of
95 of his selected speeches out of a total of 243
speeches made by the President in the first year of his
office. They have been divided in eight sections.
NITI Aayog launches ‘AI 4 All Global Hackathon’
With the vision to further expand the idea of
‘Artificial Intelligence, AI for All’
articulated in the National AI Strategy, NITI
Aayog organizes hackathons to source
sustainable, innovative and technologically-
enabled solutions to address various
challenges in the development space. Taking the initiative forward, NITI Aayog is now
partnering with Perlin – a Singapore-based AI start up - to launch the ‘AI 4 All Global
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Current Affairs: December 07-08, 2018
Hackathon’, and is inviting developers, students, start-ups and companies to develop AI
applications to make significant positive social and economic impact for India.
Rattan Lal honoured with Glinka World Soil Prize 2018
Rattan Lal, has won the Glinka World Soil Prize
2018 in a ceremony at the Rome headquarters of
the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) for his outstanding contribution to
sustainable soil management. Rattan Lal is a
distinguished university professor of soil science at
the Ohio State University and also the President of the International Union of Soil Science
(IUSS).
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy conferred Skoch Award for National Significance
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy,
Government of India has been conferred the Skoch
Award for National Significance at an event held
recently in New Delhi. The award was received by
Secretary, Ministry of New Renewable Energy Shri
Anand Kumar. The award has been conferred on
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Current Affairs: December 07-08, 2018
the Ministry considering its purpose and critical role played in installing about 73 GW
renewable energy capacities in the country. With 21 percent of total installed capacity, within
the year renewable energy grossed a magic figure of providing one billion units of electricity in
the country.
Italy won the Ninth edition of International Admiral’s Cup Regatta 2018 held in Ettikulam Beach at Indian Naval Academy (INA), Ezhimala
On 06th December, Italy won the Ninth edition of
International Admiral’s Cup Regatta 2018 with their
consistent performance in all races held in Ettikulam
Beach at Indian Naval Academy (INA), Ezhimala.
Singapore was the runner-up and the defending
champion USA came on the 3rd spot.
Yasir Shah becomes fastest bowler to take 200 Test wickets after Breaking 82 year old Record
On 6th December, Pakistan’s leg-spinner Yasir Shah
became the fastest cricketer to take 200 Test wickets
in just 33 Tests, breaking an 82-year-old record,
beating Australian leg-spinner Clarrie Grimmett’s
record of 36 Tests set against South Africa in
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Current Affairs: December 07-08, 2018
Johannesburg in 1936.
World’s fastest growing cities: All top 10 are from India
When it comes to the top 10 cities for economic
growth, India is set to dominate over the next two
decades, according to Oxford Economics. Surat, a
diamond processing and trading center in the western
state of Gujarat, will see the fastest expansion through
2035, averaging more than 9 percent, Richard Holt,
Oxford’s head of global cities research, wrote in a report. All of the 10 fastest over that period
will be in India. Agra, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Tiruppur, Rajkot, Tiruchirapalli,
Chennai, Vijayawada stood in the top 10 list.
International Civil Aviation Day: 7 December
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 in helping States to cooperate
and realize a truly global rapid transit network at the
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Current Affairs: December 07-08, 2018
service of all mankind. For 2015-2018 inclusive the Council has selected the following theme:
Working Together to Ensure No Country is Left Behind.
Panama becomes 1st Latin American nation to join Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of China
The Strategic Central American Nation, Panama
became the first Latin American Country to join
China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative
after the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to
Panama. Chinese President Xi Jinping and his
Panamanian counterpart Juan Carlos Varela
inked various deals for the same.
Capital: Panama City
Currency: US Dollar
Australia became world’s biggest LNG exporter for 1st time, surpassing Qatar: Australian Bureau of Statistics
On 7th December Australia surpassed Qatar to
become the world’s leading exporter of
Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) for the first time.
This was announced according to the Australian
Bureau of Statistics which stated that Australia
had exported 6.55 million tonnes of LNG in
November 2018 compared to Qatar’s 6.27 million tonnes.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 8
Current Affairs: December 09-10, 2018
December 09-10, 2018
Kerala becomes first state to have 4 international airports with Kannur Airport inauguration
Union Minister of Civil Aviation Suresh
Prabhu and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi
Vijayan on 9th December inaugurated the
Kannur international airport making Kerala
the only state in the country to have four
international airports. The other three
international airports are Cochin International Airport, Trivandrum International Airport and
Calicut International Airport.
18th All India Annual Conference of Heads of Science Centre’s & Museums begins at Itanagar
The 18th All India Annual Conference of the
Heads of Science Centre’s and Museums
began on 8th December at Itanagar.
Inaugurating the 3-day conference, Arunachal
Pradesh Environment and Forest Minister
Nabam Rebia said that Arunachal Pradesh
State Council Science and Technology is playing an important role. https://examprep.talentsprint.com 1
Current Affairs: December 09-10, 2018
India’s first underwater sea museum to come up in Pondicherry
Puducherry aka Pondicherry is South India’s most
unique beach destinations; and soon, it will have
another feather in its hat much to the delight of
discerning tourists. News has it that, underwater
tourism will be promoted off the shoreline of
Puducherry for the first time in India. In order to
accomplish this objective, a minesweeper vehicle named INS Cuddalore will be deployed in the
seabed 7 km from the coast of Puducherry in waters of no more than 26 metres in depth. The
minesweeper has served for more than 30, 000 nautical miles in the last 30 years till now.
India to retain top position in remittances with $80 billion: World Bank
On 08th December, India retains its position as
the world’s top recipient of remittances this
year with its diaspora sending $80 billion back
home. India is followed by China ($67 billion),
Mexico and the Philippines ($34 billion each)
and Egypt ($26 billion).
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 2
Current Affairs: December 09-10, 2018
Current account deficit widens to 2.9% of GDP in Q2: RBI
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that India’s
current account deficit (CAD) widened to 2.9%
of the GDP in the July-September quarter of
the current fiscal, against 1.1% in the year-ago
period, mainly due to a large trade deficit. The
deficit for the second quarter was $19.1 billion
compared with $6.9 billion in the year-earlier period.
Krishnamurthy Subramanian succeeds Arvind Subramanian as CEA
The government has appointed Krishnamurthy
Subramanian, an associate professor of finance at
the Indian School of Business, the chief economic
adviser for a 3-year tenure. Subramanian, who
obtained his PhD under Raghuram Rajan and
wrote in support of demonetisation, fills the post
that fell vacant after Arvind Subramanian left in August, resigning before his extended tenure
was to end in May 2019.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 3
Current Affairs: December 09-10, 2018
Arundhati Bhattacharya to be SWIFT India Chairman
SWIFT India Domestic Services, the local unit of
SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial
Telecommunication) global that facilitates
international payments functions for banks, has
appointed Arundhati Bhattacharya, former
chairman of State Bank of India, as its chairman.
China launches the first ever space rover to explore the dark side of the moon
China has launched a rover on 8th December that
will land on the far side of the moon, a global first
that would boost Beijing's 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 in the pre-dawn hours, according to the official
Xinhua news agency.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 4
Current Affairs: December 09-10, 2018
Mexico's Vanessa Poncede Leon wins Miss World 2018 crown held in China's Sanya
Mexico's Vanessa Ponce de Leon won the coveted
Miss World 2018 crown at a grand event held in the
Chinese city, Sanya. Thailand's Nicolene Pichapa
Limsnukan was declared the runner-up. Former
Miss World Manushi Chillar presented the crown
to the new winner during the pageant in which 118
contestants participated. India's Anukreethy Vas
failed to make a mark at the pageant as she could not even make it to the top 30.
Ranji Trophy: Ajay Rohera smashes 267 on first-class debut, breaks 24-year-old world record
On 8th December 2018, Madhya Pradesh batsman Ajay
Rohera scored 267 unbeaten on his first-class debut
against Hyderabad while playing the Ranji Trophy
match in Indore. The 267 not out by 21-year-old Ajay
Rohera is a world record with the previous best held
by Mumbai's Amol Muzumdar who had scored 260 https://examprep.talentsprint.com 5
Current Affairs: December 09-10, 2018
against Haryana in Faridabad in 1994.
Shubhankar Sharma becomes youngest Indian to win Asian Tour Order of Merit
On 8th December 2018, Shubhankar Sharma became
the youngest and the fifth Indian to win Asian
Tour Order of Merit in golf. The Indian won it
even before the finish of the last two events of the
year.
Human Rights Day: 10 December
Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10
December – the day the United Nations General
Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. This year,
Human Rights Day marks the 70th anniversary of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a
milestone document that proclaimed the inalienable rights which everyone is inherently
entitled to as a human being -- regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or
other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. It is the most translated
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Current Affairs: December 09-10, 2018
document in the world, available in more than 500 languages.
2018 Theme: Stand Up For Human Rights
International Anti-Corruption Day: 9 December
Corruption is a serious crime that can
undermine social and economic development in
all societies. No country, region or community is
immune. This year UNODC and UNDP have
developed a joint global campaign, focusing on
how corruption affects education, health, justice,
democracy, prosperity and development.
FAO Council approves India’s proposal to observe International Year of Millets in 2023
Food and Agriculture organization, FAO
Council has approved India’s proposal to
observe an International Year of Millets in
2023. In a statement, Agriculture Minister
Radha Mohan Singh today said, the 160th
session of the FAO Council, currently
underway in Rome approved the proposal.
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Current Affairs: December 09-10, 2018
Luxembourg became the first country to make public transport free
Luxembourg became the first country to
abolish all fares on public transport by 2019.
The move of free public transport was done to
enhance the traffic congestion scenario in
Luxembourg City, which is one of the worst
traffic congestion-hit cities in the world.
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Current Affairs: December 11, 2018
December 11, 2018
Shi Yomi became 23rd district of Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh got Shi Yomi as its 23rd
district after its inauguration by Chief
Minister Pema Khandu in presence of Union
Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju.
India successfully test-fires Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Agni-5
The indigenously built Intercontinental Ballistic
Missile Agni-5 has been test-fired successfully from
Abdul Kalam island under Chandipur Interim Test
Range on 10th December.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 1
Current Affairs: December 11, 2018
World’s first Hindi speaking Robot ‘Rashmi’ to host on Red FM
Red FM has introduced a humanoid robot as a
radio jockey. RJ Rashmi, the world’s first-ever
Hindi speaking robot, has started hosting a show
on Red FM.
Urjit Patel resigned as the 24th RBI Governor
Underling the deepening trust deficit between the
Reserve Bank of India and the central
government, 24th RBI Governor Urjit Patel
resigned on 10th December, almost 10 months
ahead of his term — ending the shortest tenure a
central banker in India has had since 1992. Citing
“personal reasons”, Patel quit weeks after a fractious faceoff with the government.
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Current Affairs: December 11, 2018
Economist Surjit Bhalla resigns from PM's Economic Advisory Council (EAC)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accepted the
resignation of economist Surjit Bhalla as part-
time member of his Economic Advisory Council
(EAC), the PMO said on 11th December. Mr Bhalla
resigned from his post on December 1. Headed by
NITI Aayog Member Bibek Debroy, other part-
time members of the EAC-PM include economists Rathin Roy, Ashima Goyal and Shamika
Ravi.
United Kingdom Court orders Mallya's extradition to India
In a major setback to Vijay Mallya, a UK court on
10th December said that Mallya can be extradited
to India, where he is wanted for alleged fraud and
money laundering charges amounting to an
estimated Rs 9,000 crores. Westminster
Magistrates' Court Chief Magistrate Judge Emma
Arbuthnot ruled that Mallya can be extradited to India to stand trial on the charges brought by
the CBI and ED.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 3
Current Affairs: December 11, 2018
Direct Tax Gross collections for 2018-19 upto November are at Rs 6.75 lakh Cr
The provisional figures of Direct Tax collections
for 2018-19 up to November this year show that
Gross Collections are at 6.75 lakh crore rupees.
This is 15.7% higher than the Gross Collections for
the corresponding period of last year.
Union Govt contribution to NPS raised to 14%
Speaking to media in New Delhi on 10th December,
Mr. Jaitley said Central Government contribution
will be raised to 14% from existing 10% in NPS. He
said the tax exemption limit for lump sum
withdrawal on exit has been enhanced to 60%. With
this, the entire withdrawal will now be exempted
from income tax.
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Current Affairs: December 11, 2018
ICICI Bank launches ‘Money Coach’ - Robo Investment Advisory feature on iMobile app
ICICI Bank launches India’s 1st automated
and robotics based investment advisory
application on mobile for customers – ‘Money
Coach.’ The software robotics is based on
automated personal finance and investment
advisory platform, it will help customers plan
their future investments in a seamless manner and manage the entire investment journey of a
customer from building an investible corpus to investing in recommended portfolios, and
tracking it 24×7. The service is offered free of cost and enables goal based investment advisory.
Ratan Tata conferred steel industry’s lifetime achievement award
Eminent industrialist Ratan N. Tata was
conferred the Steel Users Federation of India
(SUFI) Lifetime Achievement Award for his
association and contribution to the industry, an
official said here on December 10. The award
was bestowed on Tata by Union Minister for
Steel Choudhary Birendra Singh.
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Current Affairs: December 11, 2018
DMK MP Kanimozhi gets the best woman Parliamentarian Award
On 13th December, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
(DMK) Member of Parliament (MP), Kanimozhi
will be awarded as “Best Woman Parliamentarian
– Rajya Sabha” by the Vice-President of India, M.
Venkaiah Naidu at Dr. Ambedkar International
Center in New Delhi.
Prathamesh Maulingkar, hailing from Goa, India, became the first Asian/Indian Mr Supranational 2018
Prathamesh Maulingkar from Goa, dubbed as
Mr. India, became the first Asian/Indian to win
2018 Mister Supernatural title after contesting
37 candidates in the 3rd edition of the
competition held in Krynica-Zdroj, Poland.
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Current Affairs: December 11, 2018
Virat Kohli becomes first Asian skipper to win a Test in South Africa, England and Australia
On 10th December, Indian Skipper Virat Kohli
became the first Indian skipper to win a Test in
South Africa, England and Australia after
defeating Australia by 31 runs in the First Test
Match of the Four Match Test Series at Adelaide.
International Mountain Day: 11 December
Mountains are early indicators of climate change
and as global climate continues to warm, mountain
people — some of the world’s hungriest and poorest
— face even greater struggles to survive. The rising
temperatures also mean that mountain glaciers are
melting at unprecedented rates, affecting freshwater
supplies downstream for millions of people. Mountain communities, however, have a wealth of
knowledge and strategies accumulated over generations, on how to adapt to climate variability.
2018 theme: “#MountainsMatter”
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Current Affairs: December 11, 2018
Padma Shri historian and former Jamia VC, Mushirul Hasan passed away at 71
On 10th December, renowned historian and former
vice-chancellor Jamia Millia of Islamia, Professor
Mushirul Hasan, passed away at 71.
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Current Affairs: December 12, 2018
December 12, 2018
Home Ministry launches Twitter account #CyberDost to spread awareness about cybercrimes
Union Home Ministry has launched a Twitter
account to spread awareness about cybercrimes and
normal precautions to be taken. The Twitter handles
- @CyberDost - is aimed at enhancing people's basic
knowledge about cybercrimes and precautions to be
taken for prevention.
1st International Conference on Sustainable Water Management held in Mohali, Punjab
The 2- day first International Conference, on the
theme- ‘Sustainable Water Management’,
commenced at Indian School of Business (ISB),
Mohali in Punjab. It concluded on December 11,
2018.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 1
Current Affairs: December 12, 2018
Lepa Rada becomes 24th district of Arunachal Pradesh
On 11th December, Arunachal Pradesh gets its
24th district – Lepa Rada, 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. Basar will be headquarters of Lepa Rada
‘Operation Minimum wage’, to check violations of Minimum Wage Act 2017, launched by Delhi government
On 10th December, the Delhi government launched a
10-day special inspection drive named- “Operation
Minimum Wage”, to check implementation of
minimum wage rules set by the state government.
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Current Affairs: December 12, 2018
Jana Small Finance Bank launches cricket fans Debit Card
The Board of Control for Cricket in India partner
Jana Small Finance Bank has launched an offer-
loaded Jana Bankable Debit Card for cricket fans
in the country. This card is designed for cricket
fans who like deals and offers on online shopping,
gym membership, health & wellness products,
food delivery, music and travel, states a Jana
Small Finance Bank Press release.
RBL Bank’s ‘Umeed 1000 Cyclothon’ ends in Bengaluru
Umeed 1000 Cyclothon, a CSR initiative by RBL
Bank, which was flagged off on 30th November,
has culminated in Bengaluru at Manipal Global
Academy of BFSI campus in Thanisandra on 11th
December.
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Current Affairs: December 12, 2018
EU Ambassador Opens India's first CoE at MAHE
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, Karnataka
by Ambassador of the European Union (EU) to India
and Bhutan, Tomasz Kozlowski.
Former Finance Secretary Shaktikanta Das appointed new RBI Governor
A day after Urjit Patel resigned from his post as the
25th Governor of Reserve Bank of India with
immediate effect citing personal reasons, Former
Finance Secretary Shaktikanta Das has been
appointed as the new Governor of the apex bank on
11th December.
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Current Affairs: December 12, 2018
Mary Kom honoured with Meethoileima title
Manipur Government yesterday honoured AIBA
World Women Boxing Gold medalist MC Mary
Kom with the title "Meethoileima" (par excellent
queen) at a function in Imphal. On the occasion,
State Chief Minister N. Biren Singh handed over
a cheque of ten lakh rupees to her. The Chief
Minister also declared that the Imphal West DC Road towards Game Village will be named as
MC Mary Kom Road.
Centre and the ADB sign loan agreement of 31 million dollar to develop Tourism and boost Jobs in Tamil Nadu
Centre and the Asian Development Bank has
signed a loan agreement of 31 million dollars
in New Delhi to develop Tourism and boost
Jobs in Tamil Nadu.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 5
Current Affairs: December 12, 2018
Israel becomes 38th member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
Israel became a full member of the Financial Action
Task Force (FATF), an international body set up to
combat money laundering, terrorist financing and
other threats to the international financial system.
FATF HQ: Paris, France
Slain journalist Khashoggi named Time magazine's "Person of the Year"
Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was
murdered in October at his country's Istanbul
consulate, has been named Time magazine's
"Person of the Year" alongside several other
journalists.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 6
Current Affairs: December 12, 2018
International Day of Neutrality: 12 December
Neutrality — defined as the legal status arising
from the abstention of a state from all
participation in a war between other states, the
maintenance of an attitude of impartiality toward
the belligerents, and the recognition by the
belligerents of this abstention and impartiality —
is critically important for the United Nations to gain and maintain the confidence and
cooperation of all in order to operate independently and effectively, especially in situations that
are politically charged.
International Universal Health Coverage Day: 12 December
On 12 December 2012, the United Nations
General Assembly endorsed a resolution
urging countries to accelerate progress
toward universal health coverage (UHC) –
the idea that everyone everywhere should
have access to quality, affordable health care
- as an essential priority for international development.
2018 Theme: "Unite for Universal Health Coverage: Now is the Time for Collective Action."
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Current Affairs: December 13, 2018
December 13, 2018
Prime Minister inaugurates the Partners’ Forum, 2018 in Delhi
“It is only partnerships that will get us to our
goals. Partnerships between citizens,
Partnerships between communities,
Partnerships between countries. The
Sustainable Development agenda is a
reflection of this.” This was stated by PM
Modi as he inaugurated the Partners’ Forum, 2018 in Delhi. The Prime Minister also released
the coffee table book ‘Proven Paths’, a compendium of 36 best practices in maternal, child and
adolescent health, at the inaugural ceremony.
Deep Sea Submarine Rescue System Inducted into the Indian Navy at Mumbai
Indian Navy's first flyaway Deep Sea Submarine
Rescue System was formally inducted by Admiral
Sunil Lanba, Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee
and Chief of the Naval Staff, at the Naval
Dockyard, Mumbai.
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Current Affairs: December 13, 2018
First ever Agriculture Export Policy 2018 launched by Commerce Ministry in its Year End report
On December 11, 2018, the Ministry of
Commerce and Industry released the Year
End review of the policies to envision the
creation of a ‘Vision of New India’ which
would propel the India to become a USD 5
trillion economy by the end of 2025.
2 day Conference ‘AYUSHCHARYA’ on Dinacharya and Ritucharya for public health promotion organised at New Delhi
All India Institute of Ayurveda, New Delhi
organized a National conference
‘AYUSHCHARYA’ on Dinacharya (Daily
Regimen) and Ritucharya (Seasonal Regimen) for
public health promotion” on 10th and 11th of
December. About 200 academicians, physicians,
scientists and researchers from all over country
attended the Conference. The Minister of State for AYUSH Shri Shripad Yesso Naik delivered
the valedictory address at the Conference.
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Current Affairs: December 13, 2018
India's overall exports grow by 17.01% for Apr-Sep 2018 period
India's overall exports including merchandise
and services have increased a positive growth of
17.01 percent during April-September of 2018-19
as compared to the corresponding period of
previous year, Minister of State for Commerce
and Industry CR Chaudhary informed the Rajya
Sabha in a written reply.
Retail inflation hits 17-month low at 2.33% in November
Retail inflation eased to a 17-month low in
November this year at 2.33%, mainly due to
decline in prices of kitchen essentials like
vegetables. According to the provisional data of
Ministry of Statistics and Program
Implementation released yesterday, for
November, the retail inflation was at the lowest
level recorded since June last year, when it stood at 1.46%. November marked the fourth
consecutive month in which inflation was within the Reserve Bank of India's medium-term
goal of 4%.
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Current Affairs: December 13, 2018
Industrial output growth fastest in 11 months at 8.1% in October
India's industrial output grew at an 11-month high of
8.1% in October mainly on the back of mining, power
and manufacturing sectors coupled with higher
offtake of capital as well as consumer durable goods.
Industrial production measured in terms of Index of
Industrial Production (IIP) grew 1.8% in October last
year, as per official data released by the Central
Statistics Office (CSO) on 12th December.
Indian Ports Association Launches ‘PCS 1x’ to Increase Ease of Doing Business
On 11th December, the Port Community System
‘PCS1x’, a cloud based new generation
technology, with user-friendly interface to
increase ease of doing business was launched by
Indian Ports Association (IPA), under the
mentorship of Ministry of Shipping in Mumbai.
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Current Affairs: December 13, 2018
CAG Rajiv Mehrishi appointed as Vice-Chair of UN Panel of Auditors till 2020
On 11th December, Comptroller and Auditor
General Rajiv Mehrishi became the Vice-Chair of
the UN Panel of Auditors for a term of 2 years
ending on June 30, 2020. Presently, the panel
consists of 11 countries — India, Germany, Chile,
Canada, France, Italy, Philippines, Ghana,
Indonesia, Switzerland and United Kingdom.
Justice Tarun Agarwala appointed Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) presiding officer
Justice Tarun Agarwala, retired Chief Justice of the
Meghalaya High Court, has been appointed as the
presiding officer in the Securities Appellate Tribunal,
Mumbai, a government order said on 12th December.
The Securities Appellate Tribunal is a statutory body
established under the provisions of Section 15K of the
Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992, to hear and dispose of appeals against
orders passed by the SEBI or by an adjudicating officer under the Act.
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Current Affairs: December 13, 2018
Manika becomes first Indian to win Breakthrough Star award
India’s Manika Batra on 12th December became the
first Indian Table Tennis player to be decorated with
the ‘Breakthrough Table Tennis Star’ award at the
prestigious International Table Tennis Federation
Star Awards in Incheon, South Korea.
PM hands over tricolour to Arunima Sinha on her expedition to Mount Vinson, Antarctica
PM Modi handed over the tricolour flag to
Arunima Sinha, marking the beginning of her
expedition to Mount Vinson, Antarctica.
Arunima Sinha is the first female Divyang to
climb Mount Everest. She called on the Prime
Minister at New Delhi on 12th December, and
apprised him of her upcoming mountaineering
expedition to Antarctica.
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Current Affairs: December 13, 2018
Sweden tops Climate Change Performance Index, India at 11th position
On December 10, 2018, the Climate Change
Performance Index was released on the
sidelines of COP24 UN Summit in Katowice,
Poland. No countries were in the top three
ranks because none did well in all categories
assessed. But among the League of Nations,
Sweden topped as the 4th country (for the second time as on 2017) followed by Morocco at 5th,
India-11th and China-33rd positions respectively.
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Current Affairs: December 14, 2018
December 14, 2018
K Chandrashekar Rao takes oath as Telangana CM for second time
K Chandrashekar Rao on 13th December sworn-in
as Telangana chief minister for the second
consecutive term. He took the oath of office and
secrecy at a simple ceremony held on the lawns of
Raj Bhavan this afternoon in Hyderabad. Governor
ESL Narasimhan administered the oath.
10-day Combined Guided Weapon Firing exercise CROSSBOW-2018, concludes
A Combined Guided Weapon Firing exercise
named 'CROSSBOW-18' ended on 13th December.
The ten-day exercise was held from December 3 to
December 13 at the Air Force Station Suryalanka
under the aegis of Southern Air Command. Various
surfaces to Air Missile systems like the indigenously
developed AKASH, SPYDER, OSA-AK-M, and IGLA carried out drills and live firing for the
first time on maneuverable aerial targets.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 1
Current Affairs: December 14, 2018
Wholesale price inflation falls to 4.64% in November
Wholesale price inflation fell to 4.64% for November
from 5.28% in October, the Ministry of Commerce and
Industry said in a statement on 14th December. The rate
of inflation was 4.02% for the corresponding month last
year.
ICICI launches ‘Advantage Woman Aura Savings Account’
ICICI Bank, on 12th December, launched a
savings account that is focused especially on
working women. “This account is for working
women, including self-employed women, who
are educators, professionals or into home
business, among others,” ICICI Bank said.
Termed Advantage Woman Aura Savings Account, it offers benefits that include a cashback of
Rs. 750 per month on usage of debit cards across key segments, 50 percent discount on locker
rentals and processing fees on home, auto and personal loans. It also offers unlimited free
transactions on ICICI Bank as well as non-ICICI Bank ATMs in India, thereby providing
exceptional flexibility.
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Current Affairs: December 14, 2018
RBI grants 40 branch licenses to Bandhan Bank
On December 12, 2018, Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) has allowed Bandhan Bank to open as
many as 40 new branches, by the end of
December, releasing the restriction that RBI has
put on the Bandhan bank’s branch opening
spree three months back.
Brijendra Pal Singh nominated as new president of FTII
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry on 13th
December nominated Brijendra Pal Singh as the new
president of Film and Television Institute of India
(FTII) Society and Chairman of Governing Council.
Mr. Singh is at present the Vice Chairman of the FTII
Governing Council. The position was vacant after
actor Anupam Kher stepped down in October this year.
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Current Affairs: December 14, 2018
Govt, ADB sign 60 million loan pact to reduce floods, riverbank erosion in Assam
NSD Logo The Centre and the Asian Development
Bank, ADB today signed a 60 Million dollar Loan
Agreement in New Delhi to continue financing
riverbank protection works, renovation of flood
embankments, and community-based flood risk
management activities in critically flood-prone areas
along the Brahmaputra River in Assam.
Allan Border Medal to be rebranded as Australian Cricket Awards
With the increase in recognition of women’s
cricket and the popularity of the T20 format,
Cricket Australia (CA) and the Australian
Cricketers’ Association (ACA) on 13th December
announced to rebrand its Allan Border Medal to
Australian Cricket Awards from 2019 onwards.
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Current Affairs: December 14, 2018
Akademik Lomonosov: World’s first floating nuclear plant installed in Russia
On 11th December, Russian state-run atomic
energy corporation Rosatom announced
commencement of installation of Akademik
Lomonosov, the world’s first “floating” nuclear
power plant (FNPP).
39th Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
On 9th December, the annual 39th Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC) summit was held
in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 39th Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC) summit held in
Riyadh, UAEi. It concluded with the ‘Riyadh
Declaration’ containing 72 topic covering
cooperation and regional affairs of Gulf nations. It consisted of participation of GCC member
countries Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar. The 40th Summit will
take place in the UAE.
GCC HQ: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Current Affairs: December 15, 2018
December 15, 2018
India's first private UAV factory comes up in Hyderabad
India' first private sector unit for
manufacturing unmanned aerial vehicles
(UAVs) opened at Adani Aerospace Park here
on 14th December. 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.
ECO Niwas Samhita 2018 - an Energy Conservation Building Code for Residential Buildings launched
Giving a further fillip to India’s energy
conservation efforts, Ministry of Power has
launched the ECO Niwas Samhita 2018, an
Energy Conservation Building Code for
Residential Buildings (ECBC-R). The Code was
launched on the occasion of National Energy
Conservation Day 2018 in the presence of Chief Guest Sumitra Mahajan, Hon’ble Speaker, Lok
Sabha and R.K. Singh, Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy in Delhi
on 14th December. https://examprep.talentsprint.com 1
Current Affairs: December 15, 2018
18th meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MTC) held in New Delhi
The 18th India-Russia Inter-Governmental
Commission on Military Technical Cooperation
(IRIGC-MTC) was held in New Delhi. The
meeting was co-chaired by Defence Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman and her Russian
counterpart General Sergei Shoigu.
National Energy Conservation Day: December 14
National Energy Conservation Day 2018 was
celebrated throughout the country under the
aegis of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE),
under Ministry of Power. National Energy
Conservation Day’ was celebrated for the first
time on December 14, 1991 when the National
Energy Conservation Awards were given away to industries for reducing energy consumption.
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Current Affairs: December 15, 2018
PSU Banks recover Rs 2.33 lakh cr worth of bad loans during 4 years
Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla
informed Parliament that Public Sector Banks
(PSBs) have recovered 2.33 lakh crore rupees
worth of bad loans during the four years from
financial year 2014-15 to fiscal 2017-18.
India Post launches Internet banking facility for its savings account customers
In a bid to further digitize its operations, India
Post, on 14th December launched the Internet
banking facility for its post office savings bank
(POSB) customers. The facility was launched by
Union Minister (Independent Charge) for
communications, Manoj Sinha, in an event held
at the National Media Centre in New Delhi.
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Current Affairs: December 15, 2018
Noted English writer Amitav Ghosh honoured with 54th Jnanpith Award 2018
Noted English writer Amitav Ghosh has been
honoured with this year's Jnanpith Award. The
decision was taken in a meeting of Jnanpith
Selection Board chaired by eminent novelist,
scholar and Jnanpith laureate Pratibha Ray. Ghosh,
one of the most prominent contemporary Indian
writers, is known for a series of novels such as
"Shadow Lines", "The Glass Palace", "The Hungry Tide", and Ibis Trilogy "Sea of Poppies",
"River of Smoke", and "Flood of Fire" chronicling the Opium trade between India and China run
by the East India Company. Ghosh is also recipient of the Padma Shri and Sahitya Akademi
Award. 2017 award was given to hindi writer, Krishna Sobti.
Jharkhand gets “Krishi Karman” award in rice category
On 13th December, the Union Ministry of
Agriculture had selected Jharkhand for “Krishi
Karman” award in the rice category. The award
which carries a cash prize worth Rs 2 crore and a
citation will be given away in February 2019 by
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
Chief Minister: Raghubar Das
Governor: Draupadi Murmu https://examprep.talentsprint.com 4
Current Affairs: December 15, 2018
International Tea Day: December 15
International Tea Day is observed annually on
December 15. It has been celebrated since 2005 in
tea producing countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka,
Nepal, Vietnam, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi,
Malaysia, Uganda, India and Tanzania.
International Tea Day aims to draw global
attention of governments and citizens to the impact of the global tea trade on workers and
growers, and has been linked to requests for price supports and fair trade.
Global debt hits all-time high of USD 184 trillion, more than 50% of debt borne by US, China and Japan: IMF
The global debt has reached an all-time high of
USD 184 trillion, with three countries — the
United States, China and Japan — accounting
for more than half of it, the International
Monetary Fund said on 13th December. Earlier
this year, the IMF had calculated the global debt
to be around USD 182 trillion. In its latest update, the IMF said the global debt has reached an
all-time high of USD 184 trillion. The updated amount, in nominal terms, is the equivalent of
225 percent of the world GDP in 2017.
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Current Affairs: December 15, 2018
Nepal bans Indian notes above Rs 100
The Nepal government has banned the use of Indian
currency notes of Rs 2,000, Rs 500 and Rs 200
denominations, a move that could affect Indian
tourists visiting the Himalayan nation where Indian
currency is widely used. Indian currency is
extensively used by Nepalese people and businesses
for their savings and transactions.
Heads of Intelligence Bureau and RAW get 6-month extensions
The Centre on 14th December gave an extension of
6 months to Intelligence Bureau Director Rajiv
Jain and Research & Analysis Wing Secretary
Anil K Dhasmana, whose two-year terms are
scheduled to end later this month. Jain’s tenure is
to end on December 30 and Dhasmana’s on
December 29. Officials in the know said the decision was taken by the Prime Minister-led
Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) in view of the forthcoming elections.
The ACC has also redesignated Anil Srivastava, a 1985-batch IAS officer of the Madhya
Pradesh cadre from advisor, NITI Aayog, to principal adviser, the order stated.
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Current Affairs: December 15, 2018
The government also appointed Ramphal Pawar, a 1988-batch IPS officer of the West
Bengal Cadre, as the Director of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
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Current Affairs: December 16-17, 2018
December 16-17, 2018
President Kovind lays foundation stone of Railway Station at Kevadia
President Ramnath Kovind on 15th December laid
the foundation stone of new ultra modern Railway
Station at Kevadia in Narmada district of Gujarat.
The station will connect the Statue of Unity project
to the rest of India through broad gauge railway
line.
Zoramthanga sworn in as Mizoram's New Chief Minister
Mizo National Front (MNF) chief Zoramthanga
was sworn in as Mizoram's new chief minister,
heading a 12-member ministry. He was
administered the oath of office and secrecy by
Governor K Rajasekharan during a ceremony at
Raj Bhavan in Aizawl. This is his 3rd stint as chief
minister of the northeastern state, having led the MNF government in Mizoram in 1998 and
2003. Mr. Tawnluia will be the deputy chief minister.
Governor: Kummanam Rajasekharan
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Current Affairs: December 16-17, 2018
Piyush Goyal dedicates first Railway University to nation in Vadodara
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal dedicated India’s
first Railway University to the nation in
Vadodara. Mr. Goyal said that this is a big step
towards the professional education and training
in the railway sector. Railways have sanctioned
Rs. 421 crore for this university and its
curriculum development for the next five years. It
is India’s first and world’s 3rd railway university after Russia and China. The Vice-Chancellor of
the university is Ashwani Lohani who is the Chairman of the Railway Board of India.
Jammu and Kashmir becomes first state to bring law against "Sextortion"
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. The State Administrative Council
(SAC) under the chairmanship of Governor
Satya Pal Malik on 14th December approved the 'Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill,
2018' and the 'Jammu and Kashmir Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2018', an official
spokesman said.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 2
Current Affairs: December 16-17, 2018
Institute of High-Altitude Medicinal Plants (IHAMP) inaugurated in Jammu and Kashmir
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for
AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik and Union Minister
of State (Independent Charge) in PMO, Dr
Jitendra Singh have laid foundation stone of
Institute of High-Altitude Medicinal Plants
(IHAMP) here at Bhaderwah. The prestigious
institute to be established at a cost of Rs 100 crore will act as a pioneering centre for the research
of medicinal plants and also help the farmers in cultivation of medicinal plants in scientific
ways, an official handout said.
Three day 4th WHO Global Forum on Medical Devices held in Visakhapatnam
On 15th December, the 3-day 4th WHO Global
Forum on Medical Devices “Increasing access
to medical devices” concluded Andhra Pradesh
Medtech Zone in Visakhapatnam, Andhra
Pradesh. It was the first time the WHO Global
Forum on Medical devices was being held in
India.
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Current Affairs: December 16-17, 2018
December 16, 1971: Vijay Diwas
On this day, 47 years ago, 93,000 members of
Pakistani troops raised white flags and
surrendered to Indian Army and Mukti Bahini,
calling an end to the Indo-Pak war of 1971. This
conflict was a result of the Bangladesh
Liberation war, when Bangladesh (then East
Pakistan) was fighting to seek freedom from (West) Pakistan.
Punjab-origin girl Shree Saini from USA crowned Miss India Worldwide 2018
Indian-American Shree Saini has been crowned
Miss India Worldwide 2018 at a pageant held in
the Fords City of New Jersey. Sakshi Sinha from
Australia and Anusha Sareen from United
Kingdom were respectively declared first and
second runner ups in the 27th annual global
pageant for people of Indian origin.
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Current Affairs: December 16-17, 2018
PV Sindhu clinches her maiden World Tour Finals title
PV Sindhu won her maiden BWF World tour
finals title in Guangzhou, China on 16th December.
In the summit clash Sindhu defeated Nozomi
Okuhara of Japan 21-19, 21-17 in 1 hour and 2
minutes. It is indeed a great victory for PV Sindhu
after all the silvers in the recent past.
BWF HQ: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
BWF World Tour Finals 2018: Shi Yuqi stuns Kento Momota to win Men’s title
World No. 2 Shi Yuqi upset the top-ranked Kento
Momota to win the men’s singles final 21-12, 21-11
at the BWF World Tour Finals 2018 in Guangzhou,
China on 16th December.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 5
Current Affairs: December 16-17, 2018
Belgium beat Netherlands to win Men's Hockey World Cup, Odisha 2018
The Men's Hockey World Cup 2018 in
Bhubaneswar on 16th December got a new winner
after 16 years as Belgium defeated the
Netherlands 3-2 in sudden death. Both the teams
were at level 2-2 after five penalties. Belgium and
the Netherlands were goal-less at full time.
Australia secured a consolation bronze medal after
mauling England 8-1 at the men's hockey World Cup at the Kalinga Stadium here on 16th
December.
Virat Kohli becomes second fastest to score 25 Test centuries
Virat Kohli has become the second fastest batsmen to
scored 25 Test hundreds as he reached the milestone in
127 innings on Day 3 of the Perth Test between India
and Australia at the brand new Optus Stadium. Don
Bradman took just a mere 68 innings to score 25 Test
hundreds but Kohli has left Sachin Tendulkar behind
who took 130 innings to score as many hundreds in Tests.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 6
Current Affairs: December 16-17, 2018
Ranil Wickremesinghe sworn in as Sri Lankan Prime Minister
Ending a 51-day political crisis in Sri Lanka, Ranil
Wickremesinghe sworn in as the new Prime
Minister of the island nation, following the
resignation of Mahinda Rajapaksa after he fails to
garner majority in the Parliament; India welcomes
the resolution of the political situation in Sri Lanka.
Australia recognizes west Jerusalem as capital of Israel
On 15th December, Australia became one of the
few countries to formally recognize West
Jerusalem as the capital of Israel however it will
not move its embassy from Tel Aviv until a peace
settlement is reached.
Israel Currency: New Shekel
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 7
Current Affairs: December 18, 2018
December 18, 2018
Union Cabinet decisions on 17th December
Union Cabinet chaired by PM Narendra Modi
has approved the following:
MoU between India and France in the
field of new and renewable energy
MoU between India and Afghanistan in
the field of human resource development
Establishment of two new AIIMS at Tamil Nadu & Telangana under Pradhan Mantri
Swasthya Suraksha Yojana
Joint Issue of Postage Stamps by India and South Africa
Signing of MoU between India and Australia
Expansion of beneficiaries list under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana to all poor families
Boost to educational infrastructure in tribal areas
Construction of New 4 - Lane Bridge (Parallel to the Existing MG Setu) with its approaches
from km 0/0 to km 14/500 across river Ganga on NH-19 at Patna in the State of Bihar on EPC
Mode
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Current Affairs: December 18, 2018
Ashok Gehlot sworn-in as CM, Sachin Pilot as Deputy CM of Rajasthan
On 17th December, Ashok Gehlot took oath as
the Rajasthan Chief Minister whereas Sachin
Pilot took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister
after the successful lead in 2018 Rajasthan
Legislative Assembly election. Governor
Kalyan Singh administered the oath at the
historic Albert Hall in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
Kamal Nath sworn in as 18th Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh
On 18th December, Congress leader Kamal Nath,
72 took oath as 18th Chief Minister of Madhya
Pradesh after the 2018 Rajasthan Legislative
Assembly election at Kanpur, Madhya Pradesh.
Governor Anandiben Patel administered the
oath of office of Kamal Nath.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 2
Current Affairs: December 18, 2018
Bhupesh Baghel sworn in as Chhattisgarh’s 3rd Chief Minister
On 17th December, Congress leader Bhupesh
Baghel sworn in as third Chief Minister of
Chhattisgarh, at an indoor stadium Raipur, Capital
of Chhattisgarh. The Swearing in Ceremony is
administered by Governor Anandiben Patel.
Indian Air Force flies First Military Aircraft with Bio-Jet fuel
In a first, experimental test pilots and test
engineer of the Indian Air Force (IAF) flew an
An-32 military transport aircraft using blended
bio-jet fuel. The sortie was flown at Chandigarh
on 17th December morning. The project is a
combined effort of IAF, the Defence Research
and Development Organisation (DRDO), the Directorate General Aeronautical Quality
Assurance (DGAQA) and CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum.
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Current Affairs: December 18, 2018
NITI Aayog organises the 3rd edition of the Women Transforming India Awards
On 16th December, National Institution for
Transforming India (NITI AAYOG) organized
the 3rd edition of the Women Transforming
India Awards 2018 and launch the upgraded
portal of the Women Entrepreneurship Platform
2.0. The Vice President of India M. Venkaiah
Naidu was chief guest of the event where he presented the awards and launched the portal.
Theme of this year is ‘Women and Entrepreneurship’.
Govt's total liabilities rose to Rs 82.03 lakh crore in September quarter
Public debt accounted for nearly 90 percent of the
government’s total liabilities, which ballooned to
Rs 82.03 lakh crore at the end of September
quarter, according to a report. The Quarterly
Report on Public Debt Management, released by
the Finance Ministry on 17th December, said public
debt accounted for 89.3 percent of total outstanding liabilities in three months ended September.
Out of the public debt, nearly 83 percent was internal debt. The government’s total liabilities
increased to Rs 82.03 lakh crore in the latest September quarter from Rs 79.80 lakh crore in the
preceding three months.
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Current Affairs: December 18, 2018
Madhavi Divan appointed as Additional Solicitor General
“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet
has approved the appointment of Ms. Madhavi
Goradia Divan, Advocate, as Additional
Solicitor General of India (ASGI) in the
Supreme Court of India with effect from the date
of assumption of charge of the post till 30.06.2020
or until further orders,” an official communication said. She will be the third woman law officer
to be appointed by the NDA government. KK Venugopal is the present Attorney General of
India, who is assisted by Tushar Mehta, the Solicitor General of India.
Sandip Somany of HSIL Ltd elected new FICCI President
Sandip Somany, Vice Chairman and Managing
Director, Hindustan Sanitaryware & Industries
Limited (HSIL) Limited has been elected as the
president of Federation of Indian Chambers of
Commerce and Industry (FICCI) for 2018-19.
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Current Affairs: December 18, 2018
Andreas Goss is CEO for Tata Steel JV in Europe
Andreas Goss will be the chief executive officer of
Thyssenkrupp Tata Steel B.V., the proposed joint
venture between Tata Steel and Thyssenkrupp. Tata
Steel and ThyssenKrupp AG signed definitive
agreements in June 2018 to combine their European
steel businesses in a 50:50 joint venture to be
positioned as a leading pan-European high-quality flat steel producer with a strong focus on
performance, quality and technology leadership.
Joshna Chinappa bags record-equalling 16th national title, Mahesh wins maiden crown
Squash star Joshna Chinappa equalled Bhuvneshwari
Kumari’s record of 16 national titles while Mahesh
Mangaonkar won his maiden crown on the concluding
day of the premier domestic event at the HCL campus,
New Delhi on 16th December. In the two contrasting
finals, Mahesh pipped Vikram Malhotra 11-4, 13-15, 11-
2, 5-11, 15-13 while Joshna edged out Urwashi Joshi 9-
11, 11-1, 11-6, 11-5.
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Current Affairs: December 18, 2018
Ultra-marathon runner Apoorva sets national record
Ultra runner Apoorva Chaudhary created a national
record by completing 176.8 km in the women’s 24-
hour event at the NEB 24 Hour Stadium Run held
here under the aegis of Athletics Federation of India.
Apoorva, the 28-year old runner from Bijnor in Uttar
Pradesh, broke the previous national record of 175.4
km registered in the name of Meenal Kotak. Competing in just her third ultra-marathon race,
Apoorva also became only the fourth Indian woman to run more than 100 miles (160 km) in 24
hours after Meenal, Hema Saini (172.3 km) and Aparna Choudhary (169.2 km).
Philippines contestant Catriona Elisa Gray named Miss Universe 2018
Catriona Gray of Philippines on 17th
December clinched Miss Universe 2018 crown
beating contestants from 93 other countries.
Gray edged out first runner-up Tamaryn
Green of South Africa and third-placed
Sthefany Gutierrez of Venezuela.
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Current Affairs: December 18, 2018
India extends $1.4 billion aid to Maldives
In his press statement after delegation-level
talks with President Solih, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi said, India has decided to
extend 1.4 billion dollars financial assistance
to the Maldives as budget support, currency
swap and line of credit for the social and
economic development of Maldives.
'Justice' named Merriam-Webster's 2018 Word of the Year
"Justice" is what most people sought on Merriam-
Webster, among the world's most popular
dictionaries, as the US publisher named that
principle of being fair as the Word of the Year for
2018.
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Current Affairs: December 18, 2018
Arabic Language Day: 18th December
Arabic is one of the most widely spoken
languages in the world and is one of the most
widely spoken languages in the world. It is
spoken by more than 422 million people and is
spoken in the region known as the Arab World,
as well as many other neighboring regions such
as Ahwaz, Turkey, Chad, Mali, Senegal and
Eritrea. Arabic is of utmost importance to Muslims. It is a sacred language (the language of the
Qur'an), and prayer (and other worship) is not practiced in Islam except with the proficiency of
some of its words.
Renowned classical singer Pandit Arun Bhaduri passes away in Kolkata
Renowned classical singer Pandit Arun Bhaduri
passed away in Kolkata today after a prolonged
illness. He was 75 and survived by wife and son.
Pandit Bhaduri, considered to be one of the masters
of Bengali songs and Bhajans, was suffering from
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other
respiratory ailments for quite some time past.
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Current Affairs: December 19, 2018
December 19, 2018
PM Modi releases book “Timeless Laxman” in Mumbai
He said cartoons do not hurt but have a "healing
power" while speaking after launching a coffee table
book, titled "Timeless Laxman", on the life and times
of renowned cartoonist late RK Laxman, who was
known for his iconic caricature of 'The Common
Man'. Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra
Fadnavis and Governor C Vidyasagar Rao were also
present at the event.
Goa celebrates 57th Liberation Day today (19th December)
Goa Liberation Day is being celebrated on
19th December. Goa was liberated from
around 450 years of Portuguese rule on 19th
December 1961. Various functions have been
organized across the state to mark the
occasion.
Chief Minister: Manohar Parrikar
Governor: Mridula Sinha
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Current Affairs: December 19, 2018
President's rule to be imposed in Jammu and Kashmir on 20th December
As the Governor's rule expires in Jammu and
Kashmir after six months on 19th December, 2018,
President's rule is set to be imposed in the state
from Thursday (December 20), government
sources said. The Centre recommended
President's rule after a report by Governor Satya
Pal Malik, officials said on 18th December. The Union Cabinet gave its go-ahead for President's
rule after 19th December, a Home Ministry official told.
Gujarat Govt. waives off Rs. 625 crore rural electricity bills
Gujarat Govt has announced it will waive off
electricity bills of connection holders in rural areas
to the tune of Rs 625 crore. Nearly 6.22 Lakh
consumers will benefit from this scheme. Gujarat
Energy Minister Saurabh Patel informed media
that on deposit of Rs 500, domestic, commercial
and agriculture consumers can avail benefit of this
scheme and their remaining bill and interest rate can be waived off.
Chief Minister: Vijay Rupani
Governor: Om Prakash Kohli
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Current Affairs: December 19, 2018
National Cancer Institute opens in Jhajjar, Haryana
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) in
Jhajjar, Haryana, which is also India's
largest cancer hospital, opened for public
service on 18th December with the formal
inauguration to be held in January.
Chief Minister: Manohar Lal Khattar
Governor: Satyadev Narayan Arya
India ranks 108th in WEF gender gap index 2018
India has been ranked 108th in World
Economic Forum (WEF) gender gap index,
same as 2017, while recording improvement in
wage equality for similar work and fully
closing its tertiary education gender gap for the
first time. Iceland holds the top spot in the
index for the 10th consecutive year. Nordic countries Norway (2nd, 83.5%), Sweden (3rd, 82.2%),
and Finland (4th, 82.1%) dominated the top slots.
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Current Affairs: December 19, 2018
Pranab K. Das is the new Chairman of Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC)
Senior bureaucrat Pranab Kumar Das has been
appointed as Chairman of the Central Board of
Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), the apex
policy-making body for indirect taxes, an official
order said on Monday. Das, Special Secretary and
Member (Customs) at CBIC, will succeed S.
Ramesh, who superannuates on December 31.
Interim CBI Chief M Nageswara Rao promoted as Additional Director
M Nageswara Rao, who is holding the post of
interim CBI director, was on 18th December
promoted to the rank of an additional director by the
government. A 1986-batch IPS officer from the
Odisha cadre, Mr Rao's name was cleared by the
Appointments Committee of the union cabinet.
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Current Affairs: December 19, 2018
Sonam Kapoor Named PETA India's 2018 Person of the Year
Actress Sonam Kapoor, a vegan, has been named
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
(PETA) India's Person of the Year for 2018. Sonam
has been feted as she sings in praise of vegan
eating and because she keeps animal skins out of
her handbag line for her fashion brand Rheson,
apart from taking other action for the welfare of animals.
Former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan appointed as Mumbai Indians' Director of Cricket Operations
Three-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians 18th
December appointed former India speedster
Zaheer Khan as Director of Cricket Operations.
The announcement was made by the franchise
on its website. Zaheer was also part of the
Mumbai Indians in the IPL seasons 2009, 2010
and 2014.
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Current Affairs: December 19, 2018
Belgian PM Charles Michel resigns after no-confidence motion
Belgium’s government of four years has fallen on
the issue of migration after the country’s
parliament rejected an appeal from Prime
Minister, Charles Michel, for its support for a
minority administration. Michel was forced to
offer his resignation to the King of the Belgians,
Philippe, after the Socialist party, with support from the Greens, proposed a vote of no
confidence in his administration. The country is now braced for a snap election in January.
Capital: City of Brussels
Currency: Euro
International Migrants Day: 18 December
In 2018, close to 3,400 migrants and refugees
already have lost their lives worldwide. That is
why “Migration with Dignity’ is the theme of
2018’s International Migrants Day. Treating every
migrant with dignity is one of fundamental
requirements we face before anything else we
attempt on migration. Migration is the great issue of our era, and a force for dignity because it
allows people to choose to save themselves, letting them choose participation over isolation.
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Current Affairs: December 19, 2018
Former Prime Minister of Nepal Tulsi Giri passes away
Former Prime Minister of Nepal Tulsi Giri has
passed away; He was 93; Giri died at his
residence in Kathmandu on 18th December. Giri
was suffering from liver cancer for a long time
and he was recently discharged from the
hospital. Dr. Giri had a long political career. He
twice served as the PM of Nepal first from 1962 to 1964 and again from 1975 to 1977.
Capital: Kathmandu
Currency: Nepalese Rupee
President: Bidhya Devi Bhandari
Prime Minister: Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli
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Current Affairs: December 20, 2018
December 20, 2018
ISRO launches GSAT-7A communication satellite in major boost to Air Force
India on 19th December successfully launched
its latest advanced satellite that will give a big
boost to the strategic communication and
networking capabilities of the Indian Air
Force (IAF). In a launch that came with many
firsts, the 2,250 kg geo-stationary satellite
GSAT-7A built by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) provides for a secure mode
of communication and will be for the exclusive use of the IAF.
ISRO Chairman: K. Sivan
NITI Aayog’s ‘Strategy for New India @75’ report aims for 9-10% GDP growth
National Institution for Transforming India
(NITI) Aayog expects Indian economy to
grow at 9-10 percent by 2022-23, the
government’s premier policy think-tank said
in its report ‘Strategy for New India @ 75.
“The objective is - steadily accelerate the gross
domestic product (GDP) growth rate to achieve a target of about 8 percent during 2018-23. This
will raise the economy’s size in real terms from USD 2.7 trillion in 2017-18 to nearly USD 4 https://examprep.talentsprint.com 1
Current Affairs: December 20, 2018
trillion by 2022-23,” the report said calling for growth that is inclusive, sustained, clean and
formalized.
9th India-Korea Joint Commission Meeting held in New Delhi
On 19th December, on the visit of Foreign Affairs
Minister of Korea Ms. Kang Kyung-wha, Indian
Foreign Minister Mrs. Sushma Swaraj announced
to raise the quantum of the bilateral trade to 50
billion dollars by the year 2030.
Haryana Govt launches mobile app ‘Shiksha Setu’
To help students, 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.
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Current Affairs: December 20, 2018
‘Changing India’ written by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was released
On 19th December, the book ‘Changing India’
written by former Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh was released. 'Changing India'i. It is a set
of 6 volumes having a compilation of speeches
and writings detailing Mr. Singh’s life as an
economist as well as his 10-year period at the
helm of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance regime.
IDFC Bank, Capital First merge to form IDFC First Bank
“IDFC Bank and Capital First merged effective 18th
December 2018. The merged entity to be called IDFC
First Bank, subject to shareholders’ approval,” said
the joint communiqué shared by the merged
companies. After the merger, the board of IDFC Bank
has cleared the appointment of V Vaidyanathan,
founder and chairman of Capital First Ltd, as the new
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of IDFC First Bank, the merged entity,
confirmed the communiqué.
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Current Affairs: December 20, 2018
Arti Chhabra Srivastava appointed as first full-time Chief Vigilance Officer of SEBI
SEBI, which has been in existence for over three
decades, will now have its first full-time Chief
Vigilance Officer (CVO). The Prime Minister’s
Office (PMO) recently cleared the name of Arti
Chhabra Srivastava, a 1990-batch Indian
Ordinance Factory Services officer, as SEBI CVO.
The appointment was duly approved by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).
MoRD signs MoU with Maruti Suzuki India Ltd for Training Rural Youth for Skill Development under DDU-GKY
Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya
Yojana (DDU-GKY) is the flagship placement
linked skill-training programme under the
Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD). There
are several challenges that are preventing India’s
rural poor from competing such as the lack of
formal education and employability skills.
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Current Affairs: December 20, 2018
Kabaddi Player Anup Kumar announces his retirement
Renowned Kabaddi Player, Anup Kumar
announced his retirement from Kabaddi on 19th
December ending a 15-year iconic career. The 35-
year-old had led India to a memorable Kabaddi
World Cup title triumph in 2016. A sports veteran,
Arjuna awardee Anup began his international career
in 2006 at the South Asian Games in Sri Lanka.
International Human Solidarity Day: 20 December
Solidarity is identified as one of the fundamental
values of international relations in the 21st Century,
wherein those who either suffer or benefit least
deserve help from those who benefit most.
Consequently, in the context of globalization and the
challenge of growing inequality, strengthening of
international solidarity is indispensable.
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Current Affairs: December 20, 2018
'Farout' is the farthest Solar System object known to date
The reach of the Solar System extends well
beyond the full-size planets, and that's becoming
clearer than ever with a new discovery.
Astronomers have detected 2018 VG18 "Farout,"
which is the most distant Solar System object
known to date at 120AU from the Sun (about
11.15 billion miles) -- the previous record-setter, the dwarf planet Eris, is 'just' 96AU away. That
makes it over three and a half times farther from the Sun than Pluto (34AU), and over 100 times
farther than Earth.
Four human rights champions honoured with top UN rights award
Every 5 years, the UN human rights prize is
awarded to organizations and individuals
which embody excellent activism in the
defence of human rights. The 2018 United
Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights
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Current Affairs: December 20, 2018
for four persons at a ceremony at the UN on 18th December. They are
Pakistan’s fearless human rights activist and lawyer, late Asma Jahangir was
posthumously awarded
Rebeca Gyumi of Tanzania, an activist for women’s and girls’ rights
Joenia Wapichana of Brazil who fights for the rights of indigenous communities
Front Line Defenders, an Irish organization that fights for the protection of human
rights defenders
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Current Affairs: December 21, 2018
December 21, 2018
GAS 2019: Mobile app for Global Aviation Summit launched by Ministry of Aviation and AAI
The Global Aviation Summit would take place on
January 15-16, 2019 at Mumbai. This app will enable
users to interact with the co-delegates and speakers
besides providing a platform for networking through
personal and group chats.
RBI caps ECB limit at 6.5% of GDP at USD 160 billion
“It has been decided in consultation with the
Government of India to have a rule-based dynamic
limit for outstanding stock of ECB at 6.5 percent of
GDP at current market prices,” RBI said in a release.
This, it said, works out to a soft limit of $160 billion
based on the GDP figures as on March 31, 2018.
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Current Affairs: December 21, 2018
Gujarat tops States’ Startup Ranking as per DIPP
Gujarat has topped the States’ Startup
Ranking 2018 as per Department of Industrial
Policy (DIPP). Other top performers that
followed the western state were Karnataka,
Kerala, Odisha and Rajasthan. A total of 27
states and three union territories participated in
the exercise. The ranking framework covers seven areas of intervention and 38 action points,
including policy support, incubation centres, seed funding, angel and venture funding and
easier regulations. Minister for Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu launched the States’
Startup Ranking at an event organised today in New Delhi.
Harsh Vardhan Shringla appointed Indian ambassador to USA
On 20th December, Seasoned diplomat Harsh
Vardhan Shringla was appointed as the next
Ambassador of India to the United States. He is
now serving as Indian High Commissioner to
Bangladesh.
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Current Affairs: December 21, 2018
WV Raman selected to coach India Women’s Cricket team
Kapil Dev-led ad-hoc committee has selected WV
Raman as the coach for the women’s cricket team,
pushing Gary Kirsten to the second spot for the
role. The BCCI had appointed a three-member ad-
hoc committee to interview the ten prospective
candidates for the role of the women’s team coach.
China remains to be the world’s biggest, India as 5th-most deadliest place to be a journalist, Afghanistan worst: Reporters without Borders (RSF)
On 20th December, the annual worldwide round-
up of deadly violence and abusive treatment of
journalists was released by Reporters without
Borders (RSF). China remains to be the world’s
biggest jailer of journalists with the number as
high as 60.
RSF HQ: Paris, France
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Current Affairs: December 22, 2018
December 22, 2018
National Mathematics Day: 22 December
Srinivasa Ramanujan, the greatest
mathematician, who lived during the British rule
in India, has made a substantial contribution to
mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite
series and fractions. On December 22, every year
the country celebrates the National Mathematics
Day to commemorate the birth anniversary of
Ramanujan. He was born in 1887 in Erode, Tamil Nadu. He passed away on April 6, 1920, due
to deteriorating health. There is a biopic on his life named The Man Who Knew Infinity,
directed by Matthew Brown.
Himachal Pradesh, Kerala joint leaders in NITI Aayog’s SDG index
According to the ‘SDG India Index Baseline Report
2018’ released on 21st December, Kerala and
Himachal Pradesh are the front runners with an
score of 69 out of 100, followed by Tamil Nadu with
66. Uttar Pradesh was worst performing state with a
score of 42, followed by Bihar and Assam. Among
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Current Affairs: December 22, 2018
the union territories, Chandigarh was at the top due to its exemplary performance in providing
clean water and sanitation to citizens. The index, first of its kind for states in India, took into
account 13 out of 17 goals specified by United Nations as SDGs.
Odisha govt approves Rs 10,180 crores KALIA scheme for farmers
While briefing the media in Odisha’s
Bhubaneswar, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik
said, “State Cabinet on 21st December
approved, Krushak Assistance for Livelihood
and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme,
amounting Rs 10,180 crores.
Taiwan donates Rs 29.79 lakh to Kailash Satyarthi's Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA)
In a repeat of a special gesture that Taiwan initiated
in 2015, the East Asian nation on 21st December
donated Rs 29.79 lakh to Indian Nobel laureate
Kailash Satyarthi's child help NGO Bachpan Bachao
Andolan (BBA).
Capital: Taipei
Currency: New Taiwan dollar
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Current Affairs: December 22, 2018
Haryana CM inaugurates Patanjali’s World Herbal Forest Project in Morni Hill
On 20th December, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar
Lal Khattar inaugurated the World Herbal Forest
Project, a collaboration of Patanjali and Haryana
Government, at Morni Hill, near Chandigarh.
15th Global SME Business Summit in New Delhi
On 19th December, 15th edition of a two day Global
SME Business Summit was organised by the
Ministry of MSME and Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII) in association with Government e-
marketplace in New Delhi.
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Current Affairs: December 22, 2018
Mamata Banerjee gets Skoch Chief Minister of the Year Award
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has
been conferred the Skoch Chief Minister of the
Year Award for her contribution in the overall
development of the state and emerging as the best
chief minister in the country. The Skoch group
congratulating Banerjee, tweeted "Mamata Banerjee
tops in Governance. West Bengal emerges top performing State in Governance
#SkochGovernanceReport 2018.
Winter Solstice 2018 of NH and Summer Solstice 2018 of SH occurred on December 21
On 21st December, Winter Solstice which is the
shortest day of the year was observed in the
Northern Hemisphere whereas the Summer
Solstice which is the Longest Day of the year
was observed in the Southern Hemisphere.
The Summer and Winter Solstices are caused
as a result of the tilt of the Earth and its elliptical path around the sun. The Roles are reversed https://examprep.talentsprint.com 4
Current Affairs: December 22, 2018
on 21st June when the Northern Hemisphere observes Summer Solstice and Southern
Hemisphere observes winter solstice.
US Defense secretary James Mattis resigns, citing disagreements with Trump
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis resigned on 20th
December after clashing with President Donald
Trump over the abrupt withdrawal of U.S. troops
from Syria and after two years of deep
disagreements over America's role in the world.
NBCFDC Signs MoU with BSE institute Ltd. to facilitate skill development training to its target group
A Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) was signed between National
Backward Classes Finance and
Development Corporation (NBCFDC),
an autonomous corporation under
Ministry of Social Justice &
Empowerment and BSE Institute Ltd. for facilitating Skill Development Training to the target
group of NBCFDC. BSE Institute Ltd. is a promoter of Banking, Financial Services and https://examprep.talentsprint.com 5
Current Affairs: December 22, 2018
Insurance (BFSI) Sector Skill Council of India constituted under the aegis of Ministry of Skill
Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) which is a nodal body for industry interface and
MSDE. BSE Institute Ltd. is a 100% subsidiary of BSE Limited.
Mithali, Harmanpreet retained as captains for Indian Women's ODI and T20 team
Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur were
retained as captains for the Indian Women's
ODI and T20 team while out-of-form Veda
Krishnamurthy was dropped from both the
squads picked for the New Zealand tour
beginning next month. While Mithali will
lead ODI team and Kaur head T20.
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Current Affairs: December 23-24, 2018
December 23-24, 2018
National Consumer Day: 24 December
Every Year 24th December is observed as
National Consumer Day with a specific theme
in India. This year the National Consumer Day
is celebrated with the theme “Timely Disposal
of Consumer Complaints”. On this day the
Consumer Protection Act, 1986 had received
the assent of the president. The enactment of this Act is considered as a historic milestone in the
consumer movement in the country.
Kisan Diwas (National Farmers Day): 23rd December
The National Farmers Day (NFD), popularly
known as Kisan Diwas, is celebrated every
year in India on December 23 to acknowledge
the role of farmers in India’s socio-economic
development and to mark the birth anniversary
of 5th Prime Minister Late Chaudhary Charan
Singh.
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Current Affairs: December 23-24, 2018
India successfully test-fires Agni-IV ICBM from Odisha coast
India on 23rd December 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 at 8.30 am.
President inaugurates Centre of Excellence for Genetic Blood Disorders at PIMS in Karimnagar, Telangana
On 22nd December, the President of India,
Ram Nath Kovind, on his first visit to
Karimnagar, inaugurated the Centre of
Excellence Genetic Blood Disorders at the
Prathima Institute of Medical Sciences in
Karimnagar, Telangana. This centre will
work on Sickle Cell Anaemia, Thalassemia and Other Genetic Blood Disorders. The other
dignitaries who were present at the inauguration include the Home Minister Mohd Mahmood
Ali, Governors of Telangana and Maharashtra ESL Narasimhan and Vidyasagar Rao,
respectively.
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Current Affairs: December 23-24, 2018
Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurates IFC-IOR in Gurugram, Haryana
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched
the Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean
Region (IFC-IOR) at Information Management
and Analysis Centre (IMAC) Gurugram. The IFC-
IOR is aimed to engage with partner nations to
develop maritime domain awareness and share
information on vessels of interest in the Indian
Ocean Region (IOR).
India’s first music museum to be set up in Thiruvaiyaru, Tamil Nadu
The country’s first music museum will be set up
with assistance from the Central government in
Thiruvaiyaru, Tamil Nadu, the birthplace of
Saint Thyagaraja, one of the Trinities of
Carnatic music. This was announced by the
State Minister for Culture and Tamil
Development K Pandiarajan in Madurai on 23rd December.
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Current Affairs: December 23-24, 2018
A UNESCO Category 2, International Training Centre for Operational Oceanography (ITCOocean), inaugurated at INCOIS, Hyderabad
On December 22, 2018, Union Minister for
Science & Technology, Earth Sciences,
Environment and Forests & Climate Change, Dr.
Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the newly
constructed International Training Centre for
Operational Oceanography (ITCOocean)
Complex in the INCOIS campus at Hyderabad,
Telangana. He dedicated the ITCOocean to the Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
and named the academic building as Atal Bhavan and the Guest House as Atal Atithi Griha.
A Rs. 2250 crore scheme to help farmers named ‘Mukhya Mantri Krishi Yojana’ launched in Jharkhand
Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das
recently announced a Rs. 2,250-crore scheme to
help 22.76 lakh medium and marginal farmers of
the state double their income by 2022. The state
government will give Rs. 5,000 per acre to 22.76
lakh medium and marginal farmers from the
next financial year, Mr. Das said at a press conference.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 4
Current Affairs: December 23-24, 2018
Manipur Assembly Passes Anti-Mob Violence Bill
Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, who also holds
charge of the home department, moved the ‘The
Manipur Protection from Mob Violence Bill,
2018’ in the state Assembly. The bill was passed by
the assembly unanimously. It recommends a
rigorous life imprisonment term if the crime results
in the death of a victim.
RBI shortlists Wipro, TCS, 4 others for PCR
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has shortlisted
six major IT companies, including CS, Wipro and
IBM India, Capgemini Technology Services India,
Dun & Bradstreet Information Services India, and
Mindtree Ltd. to set up a digital public credit
registry (PCR) for capturing details of all
borrowers and wilful defaulters. The proposed PCR will also include data from entities such as
markets regulator SEBI, the Corporate Affairs Ministry, Goods and Service Tax Network
(GSTN) and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), to enable banks and financial
institutions to get a 360-degree profile of existing as well as prospective borrowers on a real-
time basis. https://examprep.talentsprint.com 5
Current Affairs: December 23-24, 2018
31st GST Council meeting held in New Delhi
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said GST of 6
items reduced from 28% to 18% slab. Briefing media
on decisions taken in GST Council Meeting in
Delhi, he said these items include TV, Tyre, power
bank and video games. He said, now 28% slab rate
is applicable only on 28 items, which are luxury
items like cement, auto parts, AC and dishwasher. The services supplied by the banks to Jan-
Dhan account holders will be exempted from GST. The new GST rates will be effective from 1st
January, 2019.
Logistics Development Committee constituted under the Chairmanship of Dr. Bibek Debroy, Chairman EAC-PM
On December 21, 2018, the Economic Advisory
Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM)
constituted a Logistics Development
Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr.
Bibek Debroy, Chairman EAC-PM. The
committee would be working on challenges in
logistics development and associated commerce and suggest policy reforms for ease of doing
trade in India.
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Current Affairs: December 23-24, 2018
B V P Rao elected as president of Archery Association of India
B V P Rao was elected as the President of Archery
Association of India (AAI),the election was held under
the Supervision of former Chief Election Commissioner
S. Y. Quraishi.
India's Vedangi Kulkarni becomes fastest Asian to cycle the globe
Vedangi, 20-year old, who hails from Pune, is a
student of the University of Bournemouth in the UK,
became the fastest Asian to cycle the globe. Starting
off from Perth, cycled into Kolkata in the wee hours
on 23rd December, completing the 29,000 km distance
required to qualify as bicycling across the globe. She
spent 159 days peddling up to 300 kilometers a day in 14 countries. British adventurer Jenny
Graham, 38, is the fastest woman to have cycled the globe in 124 days in 2018.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 7
Current Affairs: December 23-24, 2018
Real Madrid beats Al Ain 4-1 to win Club World Cup
Spain's Real Madrid won the Club World Cup for a
3rd consecutive year, and record fourth in total, by
beating Abu Dhabi side Al Ain in the final. This is
Real Madrid's third consecutive Club World Cup
Crown and fourth overall. Real now hold the record
for most victories in the competition, which was first
held in 2000, moving one clear of Spanish rivals Barcelona.
PM Narendra Modi announces new award for national unity
PM Narendra Modi has announced annual Sardar
Patel Award for National Integration at the
DGPs/IGPs Conference at Kevadia, Gujarat on 22nd
December. This award would be given for
outstanding efforts to further national integration.
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Current Affairs: December 23-24, 2018
South Indian Education Society award for Manmohan Singh
Former PM Dr Manmohan Singh received
South Indian Education Society (SIES) Sri
Chandrasekharendra Saraswati National
Eminence Award as part of the Kanchi
Mahaswami festival. He was awarded for his
contribution to the field of public leadership.
55th SKOCH Summit held in New Delhi; SKOCH awards were conferred
The 55th SKOCH Summit was held in
Constitution Club of India, New Delhi on 22nd
December.
Skoch awards announced are:
Category Award Recipient
Skoch Chief Minister of the Year Award Chief Minister of West Bengal - Mamata Banerjee Skoch Golden Jubilee Challenger Award Commerce and Industry Minister -Suresh Prabhu SKOCH Award for hydel project in Purulia West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL) SKOCH Sprinter of the Year Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu
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Current Affairs: December 23-24, 2018
Skoch IT minister of the Year Nara Lokesh (Andhra Pradesh)
SKOCH Governance Person of the Year K T Rama Rao (Telangana)
Salman Ali wins Indian Idol Season 10
Salman Ali was declared the winner of singing
reality show Indian Idol Season 10 on Sunday
night. Zero stars Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka
Sharma and Katrina Kaif graced the final to cheer
on the finalists. Apart from Salman, the other
finalists were Nitin Kumar, Ankush Bharadwaj,
Neelanjana Ray and Vibhor Parashar.
India ranks 12th on 'misperception index'
According to the MORI Perils of Perception Survey
2018, done by Ipsos India, an independent market
research company, Indians stood at 12th rank in the
"misperception index" out of 37 nations. Thailand
scored the lowest in the rankings followed by
Mexico, and Turkey.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 10
Current Affairs: December 23-24, 2018
Burundi names Gitega as new political capital
Burundi is a landlocked country in the African
Great Lakes region of East Africa, confirmed the
small central city of Gitega the country’s new
political capital. The previous capital
Bujumbura, on the north-eastern shore of Lake
Tanganyika, became a country‘s economic
capital.
Capitals: Bujumbura, Gitega
Currency: Burundian franc
Patrick Shanahan to replace James Mattis as US Defense Secretary
United States President Donald Trump has
announced that he will replace Defence
Secretary Jim Mattis with his deputy Patrick
Shanahan as acting Pentagon chief on January
1.
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Current Affairs: December 23-24, 2018
Assam Nightingale Dipali Borthakur passes away
Dipali Borthakur, known as the “Nightingale of
Assam,” breathed her last at a private hospital in
Assam. She was 77 and is survived by her painter
husband Neel Pawan Barua. A Padma Shri, many
fans fondly called Borthakur “Asomiya Lata
Mangeskar.” With evergreen songs like Xonor
kharu nelage mok, Konman boroxire sip, Dale dale gai kuli bulbuli and Kun xei rupowoti jai,
among others, she made a place for herself in the hearts of lakhs of people.
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Current Affairs: December 25-26, 2018
December 25-26, 2018
Bogibeel Bridge: Modi opens India's longest rail-cum-road bridge
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has
inaugurated the Bogibeel Bridge, India's
longest rail-road bridge of 4.94 km, on the
birth anniversary of the late Atal Bihari
Vajpayee -- December 25 -- observed as
"Good Governance Day" by the Centre. The
bridge connects the south bank of the Brahmaputra River in Assam's Dibrugarh district with
Silapathar in Dhemaji district, bordering Arunachal Pradesh.
Assam Governor: Jagdish Mukhi
Chief Minister: Sarbananda Sonowal
National Good Governance Day: 25 December
Good Governance Day is observed in India annually
on the twenty-fifth day of December, the birth
anniversary of former-Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee. Good Governance Day was established in
2014 to honor Prime Minister Vajpayee by fostering
awareness among the Indian people of accountability
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Current Affairs: December 25-26, 2018
in government. In keeping with this principle, the Government of India has decreed Good
Governance Day to be a working day for the government.
‘Sadaiv Atal’ dedicated to the nation and Rs. 100 coin released in memory of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee
President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on 25th December dedicated late
PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s memorial Sadaiv Atal
at Rashtriya Smriti Sthal in New Delhi to the
nation. PM Modi also released a commemorative
coin in the honour of former Prime Minister and
Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Parliament
House Annexe in New Delhi today. Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister said, Atal ji was
away from public life for nearly a decade, but the way people paid tributes to him after his
demise shows how much he was loved and admired.
Uttarakhand CM launches Atal Ayushman Uttarakand Yojana (AAYU)
With the ceremonial launch of Atal Ayushman
Uttarakhand (AAYU) Yojana on 94th birth
anniversary of the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee on 25th December, Uttarakhand has become
the first State in the country where every resident
family has come under the umbrella of a health cover
amounting to Rs 5 lakh annually.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 2
Current Affairs: December 25-26, 2018
Governor: Baby Rani Maurya
Chief Minister: Trivendra Singh Rawat
Haryana to rename childcare institutes as Jagannath Ashrams
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on 25th
December announced to name all the Child Care
Institutes being run in the state as 'Jagannath
Ashrams.' The Chief Minister made this
announcement while addressing the people during a
dance competition organised by women wing of All
India Vaish Federation, in Karnal on 25th December.
Governor: Satyadev Narayan Arya
Chief Minister: Manohar Lal Khattar
Punjab National Bank launches special card for Kumbh Mela 2019
Govt-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) has
launched a special card for Kumbh Mela 2019.
The bank has partnered with the Uttar Pradesh
government to create a model for digitization at
this edition of Kumbh Mela, PNB said in a
statement issued recently. https://examprep.talentsprint.com 3
Current Affairs: December 25-26, 2018
HQ: New Delhi
Tagline: The Name You Can Bank Upon
MD & CEO: Sunil Mehta
Laxmikant Kudalkar, Usha Timothy get Mohammed Rafi Award
The Mohammed Rafi Award, instituted by an
NGO headed by Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar,
was 24th December bestowed upon late music
composer Laxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar and
playback singer Usha Timothy. Kudalkar, of the
Laxmikant-Pyarelal duo, was given the Mohammed
Rafi Lifetime Achievement Award consisting of Rs.1
lakh and a trophy.
Lewis Hamilton awarded Drivers’ Driver of the Year
Lewis Hamilton was awarded with Drivers’
Driver of the Year after claiming the 5th
World Drivers’ Championship. After this he
became the 3rd man in history to secure the 5th
world title. This was a part of vote given by
the F1 management for the first time among https://examprep.talentsprint.com 4
Current Affairs: December 25-26, 2018
17 of the 20 drivers participating in the event. He was followed by Max Verstappen in the
second place, Fernando Alonso in the third place.
P.V. Bharathi appointed MD and CEO of Corporation Bank
P V Bharathi has been appointed as managing
director and chief executive officer of the
Corporation Bank, according to an order issued by
the Personnel Ministry on 23rd December. Bharathi
is at present Executive Director, Canara Bank. She
will take over the charge on or after February 1,
2019 and remain in the post till March 31, 2020 - the date of her superannuation, the order said.
Padma Shri awardee Sulagitti Narasamma passes away at 98
Renowned social worker and Padma Shri
awardee Sulagitti Narasamma passed away in
Bengaluru on 25th December. She had helped
deliver more than 15,000 babies in Krishnapura, a
remote village in Pavagada taluk in Karnataka.
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Current Affairs: December 25-26, 2018
She was 98. Narasamma had been conferred with the Padma Shri by President Ram Nath
Kovind on March 20, 2018.
Rabindra sangeet exponent Dwijen Mukhopadhyay passes away in West Bengal
On 24th December, Veteran Rabindra Sangeet
singer Dwijen Mukhopadhyay died at his
residence in Salt Lake, West Bengal following
various age-related ailments at the age of 91.
Former Mumbai Mayor and Padma Shri Nana Chudasama died at 85 in Maharashtra
On 23rd December, Former Mumbai Mayor and a
2005 Padma Shri awardee Nana Chudasama died
at the age of 85 after a brief illness in Mumbai,
Maharashtra.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 6
Current Affairs: December 27, 2018
December 27, 2018
Andhra Pradesh gets new HC; to start functioning from Jan 1
The separate High Court for Andhra Pradesh will
start functioning from January 1. Ministry of Law
and Justice on 26th December notified the
constitution of the High Court in Amaravati.
President Ram Nath Kovind signed a notification
in this regard. Andhra Pradesh High Court will be
the 25th High Court in the country. The Hyderabad
High Court has been functioning as common high court till now after bifurcation of undivided
Andhra Pradesh.
Andhra Pradesh & Telangana Governor: ESL Narasimhan
Train 18 becomes India's fastest train
In a tweet on 26th December, 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 percent compared to the Shatabdi. It is
developed by Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory (ICF) at a cost of Rs 100 crore. Train 18 https://examprep.talentsprint.com 1
Current Affairs: December 27, 2018
will replace the current Shatabdi Express. The train is capable of touching 200 kmph provided
the other systems like tracks and signals support the speed. The ICF plans to roll out one more
Train 18 this fiscal and four by the next fiscal.
Government approves Rameshwaram-Dhanushkodi project
The 17-km line will cost around Rs. 208 crore
and it has been included in the umbrella work
for new lines in the current financial year.
Dhanushkodi railway station was destroyed
and abandoned after the 1964 Rameswaram
cyclone and it remains unattended. The new
railway line will be a boon to pilgrims visiting the place. Hindu pilgrimage at Rameshwaram
gets completed only after taking a dip in Dhanushkodi. Railways will also build the country's
first vertical-lift bridge connecting Rameshwaram in Arabian Sea to mainland India that will
allow ships and steamers to pass through without any hindrance, replacing the existing 104-
year-old Pamban Bridge, a senior official in the ministry said.
Tribal community Baduga celebrates annual Heddaiyamman festival: Tamil Nadu
On 26th December, the tribal Badaga
community in the Nilgiris district of
Tamil Nadu celebrated their annual
Heddaiyamman festival. The Badagas
are an indigenous tribal group in the
Nilgiris and occupy more than 400 remote
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Current Affairs: December 27, 2018
hill villages in the district.
Governor: Banwarilal Purohit
Chief Minister: Edappadi K. Palaniswami (AIADMK)
Madhya Pradesh: Kuno notified as national park, path clear for Gir lions
Kuno, in Madhya Pradesh, was announced to be
notified as ‘national park’. This move was made after
the compliance with the last condition imposed by a
Supreme Court was met. This would enable
translocation of lions from Gir in Gujarat to Kuno.
Governor: Anandiben Patel
Chief Minister: Kamal Nath
Gujarat's Nilanshi Patel enters record books with 170.5cm-long hair
Nilanshi Patel, 16, a teenager from Modasa in
north Gujarat, has put the town of less than
70,000 on the world map through the sheer
power of her long tresses. Nilanshi entered
Guinness World Records with the longest hair
on a teenager with 170.5 cm (5 feet 7 inches)
long locks. Her feat would be part of 2019
edition of the record book.
Governor: Om Prakash Kohli
Chief Minister: Vijay Rupani https://examprep.talentsprint.com 3
Current Affairs: December 27, 2018
Former RBI governor Bimal Jalan to head expert panel on Economic Capital Framework
More than a month after its board decided to
constitute an expert panel to decide on an
appropriate size of Reserve Bank of India's
reserves, the central bank on December 26
constituted a six-member committee headed by ex-
Governor Bimal Jalan. Former secretary Rakesh
Mohan has been named the vice chairman of RBI
panel. It will include Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg and RBI Deputy
Governor NS Vishwanathan, the RBI said in a statement.
Bijay Kumar appointed as deputy MD of IL&FS
Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services
Ltd appointed retired Indian Administrative
Service official Bijay Kumar as its deputy
managing director. The company also
appointed N Srinivasan as a non-executive
director. https://examprep.talentsprint.com 4
Current Affairs: December 27, 2018
HQ: Mumbai
Chairman: Uday Kotak
Vice Chairman and MD: Vineet Nayyar
Mithali Raj honoured with Swarna Samman award
Mithali Raj, captain of the Indian women's
cricket team and the official ambassador
for Rio Tinto's Australian Diamonds
programme, was honored with the Senco
Gold & Diamonds, Swarna Samman
award at a star-studded event held in
Kolkata recently.
Manipur CM Biren Singh gets ‘Champions of Change’ award
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh was
on 26th December conferred the “Champions
of Change” award by Vice President M
Venkaiah Naidu for exemplary leadership
in bringing about transformation in
governance. The other awardees included
Union Minister of State for Food Processing Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Union Minister for Tribal
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 5
Current Affairs: December 27, 2018
Affairs Sudarshan and Member of Parliament Nishikant Dubey. The award was instituted by
the Centre to identify remarkable progress made in 115 “aspirational” districts whose
development is being monitored by NITI Aayog.
Governor: Najma Heptulla
Sitarist Manju Mehta conferred ‘Tansen Samman 2018’ by Madhya Pradesh Govt.
On 26th December, the Madhya Pradesh government
honoured noted sitar player Manju Mehta with the
2018 Tansen Samman, at the Tansen Music Festival
in Gwalior. The Raja Mansingh Tomar Honour was
given to the Sankat Mochan Pratishthan in Varanasi
for 2017 and the Natrang Pratishthan of New Delhi
for 2018.
Aadi Sai Vijaykaran, first Indian to win the “Top Debater in the World” title
On 26th December 2018, 13 years old class 8 student
from KC High School in Chennai, Aadi Sai
Vijaykaran became the first Indian to win the Junior
Debate Championship at the World Scholar’s Cup
held at Yale University, USA from November 16-21.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 6
Current Affairs: December 27, 2018
Former Australia captain Ponting inducted into ICC Hall of Fame
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting was
formally inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of
Fame on 26th December. Ponting was named in
the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame along with former
India captain Rahul Dravid and England
woman wicketkeeper-batter Claire Taylor
during the ICC Annual Conference in Dublin in July. Ponting could not attend the ICC
conference. Ponting is a three-time ICC Cricket World Cup winner including two times as
captain. He is the 25th Australia cricketer to be formally inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of
Fame.
Japan decides to withdraw from IWC
Japan has decided to withdraw from the International
Whaling Commission (IWC) and will resume
commercial whaling July next year. Top official
spokesperson Yoshihide Suga said, Tokyo will
officially inform the IWC of its decision by the end of
the year, which will mean the withdrawal comes into https://examprep.talentsprint.com 7
Current Affairs: December 27, 2018
effect by June 30.
IWC HQ: Cambridge, UK
Nepali cards to withdraw limited cash in India
After banning the use of Indian currency over the
denomination of INR 100, Nepal has now imposed a
limitation on the cash withdrawal using the Nepali
debit and credit cards in India. Central Bank of
Nepal, also known as the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB),
in a circular imposed limitation of NPR 1,00,000 per
month for payments and rendering services in India.
But this would not be implemented for the settlement of the hotel bills, hospitals, and drug
stores, the circular from the Central Bank of Nepal further said.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 8
Current Affairs: December 28, 2018
December 28, 2018
Tamil Nadu's Virudhunagar tops list of 111 Aspirational Districts: NITI Aayog
NITI Aayog has released the 2nd Delta Ranking of
the Aspirational Districts Programme. The rankings
were released by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant.
The rankings detail the incremental progress
achieved by the districts during June to October this
year across 6 key development sectors.
Virudhunagar in Tamil Nadu, Naupada in Odisha and Siddharthnagar in Uttar Pradesh
ranked as the most improved districts while Pakur and Chatra in Jharkhand and Hailakandi in
Assam were ranked as the least improved.
26th National Children’s Science Congress inaugurated by CM Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneswar
On 27th December, National Children’s Science
Congress (NCSC) was inaugurated by the Chief
Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik at Sikhya O
Anusandhan (SOA) University. The theme for
this year NCSC is “Science, Technology and
Innovations for a clean, Green and Healthy
Nation.” https://examprep.talentsprint.com 1
Current Affairs: December 28, 2018
Assam: 3rd Dwijing Festival begins on bank of Aye River at Chirang district
In Assam, the third Dwijing Festival has
began on the bank of Aye River at
Chirang district. Around 15 lakh tourists
are expected to participate in the festival.
Assam PHE minister Rihon Daimary
inaugurated the festival in presence of
several dignitaries.
USTAAD: Railways develops AI-powered robot to check for faults in trains
The mechanical branch of Central Railway‘s
Nagpur division has developed a new AI-powered
robot named USTAAD (Undergear Surveillance
through Artificial Intelligence Assisted Droid)
which examines parts of the coach in real time with
a HD camera and transmits them over WiFi.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 2
Current Affairs: December 28, 2018
April-November Fiscal Deficit Hits 115% of Full-Year Target
The government risks missing its budget deficit
target for the current fiscal year, data released on
27th December suggested, and economists said the
government had already started to cut capital
spending in an attempt to narrow the gap. The
data showed the fiscal deficit in the April-
November period stood at Rs. 7.17 lakh crore ($101.93 billion), or 114.8% of the budgeted target
for the fiscal year that ends in March. It is the 2nd consecutive month that the deficit has come in
above 100% of the budgeted target. In the April-October period India reported a fiscal deficit of
Rs. 6.49 lakh crore, or 103.9% of the budgeted full-year target. The government has set a fiscal
deficit target of 3.3% of gross domestic product for the current fiscal year.
Saraswat Co-operative Bank launches “Banking Services on WhatsApp”
Saraswat Bank has become the second bank
in India after Kotak Mahindra Bank to go
live on WhatsApp channel for notifications
and Bot services and the first to do so in co-
operative sector. Facebook-owned WhatsApp
messaging platform has recently launched a
'WhatsApp for Business' service, which uses software interaction in response to user initiation
to send notifications like text messages, boarding passes, receipts, tickets, account statements, https://examprep.talentsprint.com 3
Current Affairs: December 28, 2018
among others to users.
Saraswat Co-operative Bank HQ: Mumbai
Justice Praveen Kumar appointed acting Chief Justice of Andhra High Court
President Ram Nath Kovind on 27th December
appointed Justice Chagari Praveen Kumar as the
new acting Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High
Court that will come into existence on January 1,
2019. Following a presidential notification on
December 26 to create a separate High Court for
Andhra Pradesh in Amaravati, Kumar, the senior-most judge of the current Andhra Pradesh
High Court was appointed to the new post.
CA Kuttappa appointed India’s new chief men’s boxing coach
39-year-old Dronacharya awardee C A Kuttappa
has been appointed as the India’s chief boxing
coach at the ongoing national camp. He replaced
veteran coach SR Singh.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 4
Current Affairs: December 28, 2018
Madhya Pradesh’s Divya Patidar Joshi crowned Mrs. India 2018 title in New Delhi
On December 26, 2018, Divya Patidar Joshi from
Madhya Pradesh was crowned with the Mrs.
India 2018 title at the Mrs. India My Identity
Beauty Pageant 2018 finale held in New Delhi.
Luka Modric named Balkan athlete of the year
Croatia and Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric
has been named Balkan athlete of the year. Modric
won the Champions League with Real Madrid and
then led Croatia to the World Cup final in July,
where the midfielder was voted player of the
tournament.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 5
Current Affairs: December 28, 2018
Bhutan PM arrives on 3-day India trip
Prime Minister of Bhutan Lotay Tshering 27th
December 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. Foreign Secretary
Vijay Gokhale called on the visiting dignitary this evening.
Prof Hamidi Kashmiri passes away
Dr. Hamidi Kashmiri, the tallest literary figure in
the world of Urdu language, literature and literary
criticism passed away last night. He was a prolific
creative writer, an acclaimed critic and propounder
of “Iktishaafi Tanqueed” ( ). His
demise has created a void difficult to fill, especially
in the subcontinent. He has also been the Vice Chancellor of University of Kashmir for years
during the most difficult times of militant unrest.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 6
Current Affairs: December 29, 2018
December 29, 2018
Union Cabinet Decisions on 28th December
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has approved the following:
Gaganyaan Programme (India’s maiden
human spaceflight programme) to send 3 persons
to space by 2022 with a budget of Rs. 10000 crore.
Submission of India's Second Biennial
Update Report (BUR) to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC).
Setting up of the National Commission for Homoeopathy (NCH) Bill, 2018.
Two Bilateral MoUs between India and Cuba, and India and Korea in the area of
Biotechnology.
Setting up of the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Bill, 2018.
Framework Agreement between India and Sao Tome & Principe for Cooperation in the
Exploration and Uses of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes.
Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification 2018.
Amendment in the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
Listing of certain unlisted CPSEs on Stock Exchange.
Hike in MSP for Copra by more than Rs.2000 per quintal for 2019 season.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 1
Current Affairs: December 29, 2018
President of India Inaugurates the 12th Global Healthcare Summit in Mumbai
The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind,
inaugurated the 12th Global Healthcare
Summit organized by the American
Association of Physicians of Indian Origin in
Mumbai on 28th December. Speaking on the
occasion, the President acknowledged the
professionalism and excellent reputation of doctors of Indian origin in the US. He said India
and the US shared complementarities in the pharmaceutical field – in clinical research, drug
discovery and manufacture. He said that both countries can work together to address common
challenges posed by lifestyle diseases.
Raghubar Das first Jharkhand CM to complete 4 years in office
Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das
completed four years in office on 28th December,
announcing a scheme to help the girl child and
also gave a report card of the achievements of his
government during this period. Das announced
'Mukhya Mantri Sukanya Yojana' for girl child
from January 1 next year at a press conference here. He was sworn in as chief minister of
Jharkhand on December 28, 2014.
Governor: Draupadi Murmu
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Current Affairs: December 29, 2018
Union Government to infuse Rs. 28,615 crore in 7 PSBs soon
The Union government is likely to infuse Rs.
28,615 crore into seven public sector banks (PSBs)
through recapitalisation bonds by the end of this
month, sources said 27th December.
Name of Bank Recapitalization Amount (in Rs.)
Bank of India 10,086 crore
Central Bank of India 1,678 crore
United Bank of India 2,159 crore
Oriental Bank of Commerce 5,500 crore
Bank of Maharashtra 4,498 crore
UCO bank 3,056 crore
Syndicate Bank 1,638 crore
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Current Affairs: December 29, 2018
Public Enterprises Survey 2017-18: Indian Oil, ONGC, NTPC most profitable PSUs in FY18
On 27th December, according to a survey titled ‘The
Public Enterprises Survey 2017-18’ tabled in the
parliament, Indian Oil Corporation, ONGC and
NTPC emerged as the top three most profitable PSUs
in 2017-18.
RBI relaxes withdrawal limit for depositors of City Co-operative Bank
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has relaxed the
norms for the Mumbai-based the City Co-
operative Bank, allowing its depositors to
withdraw a sum not exceeding Rs 5,000 of the total
balance in every savings bank or current account
or any other deposit account, against Rs. 1,000
earlier.
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Current Affairs: December 29, 2018
ICICI topped list of banks penalising staff for fraud in 2015-2017: RBI data
According to data furnished by the Reserve Bank of
India, between 2015 and 2017, private lender ICICI
Bank penalised the highest number of employees for
defrauding bank assets in the last three year out of 60
scheduled commercial banks operating in India.
Ambika Prasad Panda appointed CMD of SECL
On 27th December, with respect to the order issued by
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Ambika Prasad
Panda has been given the opportunity of discharging the
duties of Chairman and Managing Director of South
Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL).
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Current Affairs: December 29, 2018
India announces Rs. 4,500 crore assistance to Bhutan
PM Narendra Modi has announced a Rs 4,500
crore financial assistance to Bhutan for its 12th five-
year plan after holding wide-ranging talks with his
Bhutanese counterpart Dr. Lotay Tshering. The
new five-year plan of Bhutan began this year and
will continue till 2022. In his media statement after
the talks in New Delhi, Mr. Modi said hydropower cooperation with Bhutan is a key aspect of
bilateral ties and that work on the Mangdechhu project will soon be completed.
India pips China in FDI inflows for the first time in 20 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,
buoyed by stable fundamentals, a bankruptcy code
and fresh opportunities in sunrise sectors.
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Current Affairs: December 29, 2018
Ex-President Rajoelina wins Madagascar vote
Former Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina has
beaten his rival and predecessor Marc
Ravalomanana in an election beset by allegations of
fraud from both sides, the electoral commission said
on 27th December. Rajoelina has returned to power
after he won 55.66% against 44.34% for
Ravalomanana, it said.
Capital: Antananarivo
Currencies: Malagasy ariary, Iraimbilanja
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Current Affairs: December 30-31, 2018
December 30-31, 2018
PM Modi renamed Ross, Neil & Havelock Islands in Andaman and Nicobar
PM Narendra Modi on 30th December has
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. Mr. Modi
was addressing a public function at the
historic Netaji Stadium in Port Blair. Here are the renamed islands:
The Ross Island as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep
The Neil Island as Shaheed Dweep
The Havelock Island as Swaraj Dweep
PM inaugurates International Rice Research Institute’s South Asia Regional Centre
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the
International Rice Research Institute South Asia
Regional Centre (IRRI SARC) in Varanasi. It is the
sixth campus of IRRI SARC. The institute will
complement the government’s effort to double
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Current Affairs: December 30-31, 2018
farmer’s income by 2022.
Rosogolla fest kicks off in Kolkata with the launch of postal stamp of the inventor
On 28th December, a postal stamp dedicated
to the inventor of Rosogolla, West Bengal’s
spongy and syrupy round-shaped sweet, Mr.
Nabin Chandra Das was launched at the
three-day Rosogolla fest known as
“Bagbazar-O-Rasogolla” in Kolkata, West
Bengal. The Rosogolla fest has concluded on 30th December 2018.
Delhi City Police first in country to have e-Malkhana
With the launch of ‘E-Malkhana’ in the remaining 10
districts of national Capital, the Delhi Police has
become first in country to have digitalised malkhana
in Police Stations of its all districts. Speaking on the
occasion Chief Guest, Delhi Commissioner of Police
(CP), Amulya Patnaik, said that the malkhana is
critical in police functioning and digitisation of malkhanas is a very important achievement.
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Current Affairs: December 30-31, 2018
PM launches comprehensive pension management software SAMPANN
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 29th
December launched comprehensive pension
management software SAMPANN to facilitate
pensioners of the telecom department.
SAMPANN, an acronym for System for
Accounting and Management of Pension, will
help in the timely disbursement of pensions, he said at a public meeting in Varanasi. PM Modi
said the Centre is using technology to improve ease of living and greater ease of access to
citizen-centric services.
RBI upgrades ESAF Small Finance Bank as scheduled bank
The Thrissur, Kerala-based ESAF
Small Finance Bank has received
the Reserve Bank approval to
operate as scheduled bank. This
makes ESAF the 5th scheduled bank
from Kerala after Federal Bank,
South Indian Bank, Catholic Syrian Bank, and Dhanlaxmi Bank.
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Current Affairs: December 30-31, 2018
J&K Bank launches Mandi Finance Scheme
Chairman and CEO of J&K Bank, Parvez
Ahmed on 30th December launched Mandi
Finance Scheme of the bank for traders of
agriculture produce across the country at a
function held in Amritsar. Amritsar
besides being a pious and spiritual centre
is a major trading partner of J&K State and was the first city chosen by our bank to open J&K
Bank’s first Branch in Punjab in the year 1973.
Swachh Survekshan 2018 award for Best Capital city in the Solid Waste Management given to GHMC
On December 28, 2018, Swachh Survekshan 2018
award for Best Capital City in the Solid Waste
Management was conferred to Greater Hyderabad
Municipal Corporation (GHMC). Swachh
Survekshan 2018 award for Best Capital city in the
Solid Waste Management given to GHMC. It also
ranked 27th in the list of 4041 cities in the Swachh
Survekshan Rankings.
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Current Affairs: December 30-31, 2018
India beats Australia in Boxing Day Test to retain Border-Gavaskar Trophy
India thrashed Australia by 137 runs to win
the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne
Cricket Ground (MCG) and secure an
unbeatable 2-1 lead in the four-match series
on 30th December. Skipper Virat Kohli had
declared India's second innings at 106 for
eight, leaving the hosts to chase what would have been a record fourth innings total of 399 in
Melbourne.
Pakistan set to issue 'Panda bond' in Chinese currency to raise loans from China
The federal cabinet on Thursday approved the
issuance of Pakistan’s first Renminbi-
denominated bonds to raise loans from Chinese
capital markets, as the country gradually moves
towards giving the Chinese currency a status at
par with that enjoyed by the US dollar. The
cabinet approved the issuance of the maiden renminbi-denominated ‘Panda Bonds’ during its
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Current Affairs: December 30-31, 2018
Noted filmmaker Mrinal Sen passes away
Legendary filmmaker Mrinal Sen passed away at
the age of 95 in Kolkata this morning. A Padma
Bhushan and Dada Saheb Phalke awardee, Sen
paved the way for parallel cinema in the country
with films like Ek Din Achanak, Padatik, Mrigaya,
Akaler Sandhane, Chorus, Kharij, Khandahar,
Bhuwan Shome, Akash Kusum and Calcutta 71.
Former Nigerian President Shehu Shagari died at 93
On 29th December, Former Nigerian President Shehu
Shagari passed away at 93. He was the 2nd President of
Nigeria. He was in power as the President from 1979 to
1983.
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