DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS –21.12.2018 TO 23.12.2018

NATIONAL Agriculture Export Policy 2018  Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister , approved the Agriculture Export Policy 2018, which aims to double farmer's income by 2022.  The Agriculture Export Policy envisions to “harness export potential of Indian agriculture, through suitable policy instruments, to make India global power in agriculture and raise farmers‟ income.”  The Cabinet has also approved the proposal for establishment of Monitoring Framework at Centre with Ministry of Commerce as the nodal Department with representation from various Ministries,agencies and representatives of concerned State Governments to oversee the implementation of the Policy. PM Modi attended annual conference of DGPs, IGPs in Gujarat  Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the annual conference of Directors General and Inspectors General of Police at Kevadia colony of Narmada district.  The venue for the conference is a Tent city set up nearer to the Statue of Unity.  This police conference is an annual event in which top police officers from all over the country share and discusses security related issues. Gujarat Tops India’s Startup Rankings  Gujarat has emerged as the best performer in developing startup ecosystem for budding entrepreneurs, according to the ranking of states done by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.  In the ranking process, states have been identified as leaders across various categories such as startup policy, incubation hubs, seeding innovation, scaling innovation, regulatory change champions, procurement leaders, and communication champions.  On the basis of performance in these categories, states have been recognized as best performer, top performers, leaders, aspiring leaders, emerging states and beginners. While Gujarat was the best performer, four states—Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha and Rajasthan—made it to the top performers category.  Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana - were ranked as leaders.  27 states and 3 union territories participated in the ranking process.  The government launched Startup India Action Plan in January to promote budding entrepreneurs in the country. The plan aims to give incentives such as tax holiday and inspector raj-free regime and capital gains tax exemption. Government launches Asiatic Lion Conservation Project to conserve their population  The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has launched the “Asiatic Lion Conservation Project” to protect and conserve the population of Asiatic Lion and its associated ecosystem.  The project activities are planned in such a manner that cause habitat improvement, scientific interventions, disease control and veterinary care, complemented with adequate eco development works for the fringe population in order to ensure a stable and viable Lion population in the Country  The total budget of the project for 3 years amounts to around Rs 9784 lakh.  The project will be funded under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme- Development of Wildlife Habitat (CSS-DWH) with the Central and State share of 60:40 ratio. Odisha govt. announces Rs. 10,000 crore KALIA scheme for farmers' development  Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik has announced a Rs. 10,000 crore scheme for the overall development of farmers in the state.  The development programme is named as Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA), which will provide farmers with Rs. 10,000 a year at the rate of Rs. 5,000 each for Kharif and Rabi season.  Additionally, crop loans of up to Rs. 50,000 will be interest-free under the scheme. Andhra, Himachal and Madhya Pradesh best performing states under maternity benefit programme PMMVY: MoSWCD

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DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS –21.12.2018 TO 23.12.2018

 Minister of State for the Women and Child Development Ministry Virendra Kumar released the performance of states and UTs under the maternity benefit programme named Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana.  Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh topped the charts as the best performing states.  According to the finding, 51.70 lakh beneficiaries are covered annually under the PMMVY. INTERNATIONAL 15th Global SME Business Summit in  The 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.  The theme of the event was „Building Partnerships through Global Value Chains.‟  The agenda of the summit was to bring together renowned speakers with unbounded experience and expertise, a global audience, and various national and international SME stakeholders to integrate Indian MSMEs into the Global Value Chains (GVCs). Burundi names Gitega as new capital Burundi confirmed the small central city of Gitega as the country‟s new political capital. The previous capital Bujumbura, on the north-eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika, became a country„s economic capital BILATERAL India & China hold first People-to-People exchanges meeting  The Union External Affair Minister and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi will co-chair the first-ever meeting of India-China High-Level Mechanism on Cultural and People-to-People Exchanges in New Delhi.  Earlier, India and China had decided to set up people to people mechanism during the meeting between PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.  The forum focused on three key themes:  enhancing media understanding,  promoting a closer development partnership, and  proposing a roadmap for future media cooperation. ECONOMY RBI limits total outstanding ECBs to 6.5 pc of GDP  The Reserve Bank of India, in consultation with the government, has decided to have a rule-based dynamic limit for outstanding stock of External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) at 6.5 per cent of GDP at current market prices.  The outstanding stock of ECBs as on September 30, 2018, stands at $126.29 billion.  ECBs are borrowings raised by permitted resident entities from recognised non-resident entities.  ECB is basically a loan availed by an Indian entity from a nonresident lender. Most of these loans are provided by foreign commercial banks and other institutions. It is a loan availed of from non-resident lenders with a minimum average maturity of 3 years.  The significance of ECBs lies in their size in India‟s balance of payment account. In the post reform period, ECBs have emerged a major form of foreign capital like FDI and FII. Govt to infuse Rs 83,000 crore in PSBs in next few months  The government will infuse 83000 crore in Public Sector Banks in next few months in the current fiscal.  Earlier in the day, the government sought Parliament's approval for infusion of an additional Rs 41,000 crore in the state-owned banks through the second batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants.  This would enhance the total recapitalisation in the current fiscal from Rs 65,000 crore to Rs 1.06 lakh crore. Karnataka Bank with Paisabazaar.com  Paisabazaar.com and Karnataka Bank inked an agreement to offer home loan product on the Paisabazaar platform.

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DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS –21.12.2018 TO 23.12.2018

 CEO of Karnataka Bank: Mahabaleshwara M S, Headquarters in: Mangalore. India’s Forex Reserves declined by USD 613.9 million to USD 393.12 billion  According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, the country‟s foreign exchange reserves declined by USD 613.9 million to USD 393.12 billion in the week that ended by December 14, on account of a fall in foreign currency assets. PERSON IN NEWS Harsh Vardhan Shringla  Harsh Vardhan Shringla ( officer - 1984 batch) has been appointed as the Ambassador of India to the United States of America (USA).  Currently, he is Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh.  (IFS official-1986 batch) has been appointed as the next Indian Ambassador to Bangladesh. Jim Mattis  US Defence Secretary (26th) Jim Mattis has resigned from his post due to policy differences with President Donald Trump.  General Mattis' departure comes a day after; President Trump has announced that all US troops would be withdrawn from Syria.  The Secretary of Defense is appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate and is by custom a member of the Cabinet and by law a member of the National Security Council. Pranab K Das  Senior bureaucrat Pranab Kumar Das (1983-batch IRS officer of Customs and Central Excise Cadre) has been appointed as chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) from (1st January 2019).He will take over from current Chairman S Ramesh. OBITUARIES Assamese singer Dipali Barthakur passed away  Legendary Assamese singer Dipali Borthakur breathed her last in a city hospital on 21st December 2018.She was 77.Popularly referred to as the “Nightingale of Assam”, Borthakur had been suffering from a motor neuron disease for the last four decades AWARD C.R.I Pumps wins the Prestigious National Energy Conservation (NEC) Award 2018 from the Government of India for the 4th time  C.R.I. pumps, one of the Leading Manufacturer of energy efficient pumps won the National Energy Conservation Award 2018 in the pumps category for the fourth time.  C.R.I. is the highest contributor in the country for the projects of EESL (Energy Efficiency Services Limited) to replace the old inefficient pumps with new 5 star rated smart pumps. SPORTS W V Raman  Former Indian Cricketer W V Raman (53-years) has been appointed as the new coach of the Indian women‟s cricket team.He will take over the role from Ramesh Powar.  Mr. Raman played domestic cricket for Tamil Nadu, mainly as a left-handed batsman and a part-time left arm spinner.Raman played 11 Tests (448-runs) and 27 ODIs ( 617-runs). ICC orders PCB to pay 60% of a compensation claim to BCCI  The International Cricket Council's (ICC) Dispute Resolution Panel has ordered Pakistan to pay 60% of the cost demanded by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).  Earlier, the ICC rejected Pakistan Cricket Board PCB's compensation claim which blamed India for lack of bilateral series between the two nations. Mithali & Harmanpreet retained as captains for Indian Women's ODI and T20 team  Mithali Raj (Indian Women's ODI) and Harmanpreet Kaur (T20 team) were retained as captains for the Indian Women's team.  India will play three ODIs in New Zealand beginning on 24th of next month as part of the ICC Women's Championship before playing three T20 Internationals.

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DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS –21.12.2018 TO 23.12.2018

Season-4 of Premier Badminton League began in  The upcoming edition of the badminton league will feature an impressive total of 90 players from 17 nations that includes eight Olympic medallists and eight players ranked in top 10. Belgium to end the year as No. 1 in FIFA global ranking  Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) released the Global football ranking topped by Belgium who has 1727 points as per FIFA calculations. So Belgium is going to end the year as No. 1 ahead of World Champion France.  France ranked 2nd with 1726 points and Brazil ranked third with 1676 points.  India ranked at 97th Position in the latest FIFA ranking released on 20th December 2018. MISCELLANEOUS 3 Astronauts Return From International Space Station  Three astronauts have returned to Earth after more than six months aboard the International Space Station.  A Russian Soyuz capsule carrying Serena Aunon-Chancellor of NASA, Sergey Prokopyev from Russia and German astronaut Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency landed on the snow-covered steppes in Kazakhstan. China launched first satellite to provide space-based broadband as part of Hongyun project  China launched its first communication satellite, from a Long March 11 carrier rocket, to provide broadband internet services worldwide to rival Google and other firms.  It is the first in the Hongyun project planned by China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC).  The Hongyun project, started in September 2016, aims to build a space-based communications network to provide broadband internet connectivity to users around the world, especially those in the underserved regions. IMPORTANT DAY December 20:International Human Solidarity Day  International Human Solidarity Day is annually held on December 20 to celebrate unity in diversity.  Aims to remind people on importance of solidarity in working towards eradicating poverty. December 22:National Mathematics Day  The Declaration was made by Dr ManmohanSingh, former Prime Minister of India, during the inaugural ceremony of the celebrations to mark the 125th birth anniversary of Srinivasa Ramanujan held at the Madras University Centenary Auditorium on 26 February 2012.  The National Mathematics Day is being observed on 22nd December every year to celebrate the birth anniversary of great Indian Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. BOOKS Former PM released 'Changing India' book  The former prime minister Manmohan Singh has released the 'Changing India', a five-volume book on his public life.The book has been Published by Oxford University Press.  The book is being described as a definitive expression of the former prime minister's perspectives on a wide range of economic, social and political issues as they evolved under his long and eventful career. The book “A Rural Manifesto – Realising India’s Future through her Villages” authored by BJP MP Varun Gandhi released in Bengaluru ONELINER  NITI Aayog to release Sustainable Development Goal,SDG India Index:Baseline Report 2018 in New Delhi.  PM Narendra Modi inspects 'Ek Bharat Shreshta Bharat' parade at the Statue of Unity in Kevadiya,Gujarat.  India strongly rejected Pakistan‟s claim of ownership of the Jinnah House in Mumbai and said the property belongs to it.  Union Minister Nitin Gadkari lays foundation stone of several National Highway projects in Arunachal Pradesh; Says Rs 28,000 cr projects underway in the state.

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