DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS: 09.12.2018 TO 11.12.2018 .12.2018 NATIONAL SC approved Centre’s draft.2018 of India’s First Witness Protection Scheme 2018 The Supreme Court bench of Justices A.K. Sikri and S. Abdul Nazeer approved the draft of India‟s First Witness Protection.11.2018 Scheme 2018 to ensure security to the witness. This Scheme was drafted by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The draft has been asked to be implemented across all states with immediate effect. It has three categories of witnesses based on the threat perception. Category A: Those cases where threat extends to life of witness or family members during investigation, trial or even thereafter. Category B: Those cases where the threat extends to safety, reputation or property of the witness or family members during the investigation or trial. Category C: Cases where the threat is moderate and extends to harassment or intimidation of the witness or his family members, reputation or property during the investigation, trial or thereafter. Rs 3,719 cr assistance given to Kerala, Nagaland, Andhra Pradesh From the National Disaster Response Fund, Rs 3,048.39 crore will be provided to Kerala, Rs 131.16 crore to Nagaland and Rs 539.52 crore to Andhra Pradesh, that were affected by floods, landslides and cyclone over the past few months. The decision was taken in a committee meeting chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Startup India venture capital summit 2018 to be held in Goa Startup India Venture Capital Summit 2018 promising to attract global capital in the Indian Setup Ecosystem, Goa is aiming to make it to the list of top 25 Startup destination in Asia. The theme of the year 2018 is „Mobilizing Global Capital for Innovation in India‟. The annual „startup India Venture Capital Summit‟, a joint initiative by Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Department of Industrial Policy Promotion (DIPP) and the government of Goa is set to begin in Goa . INTERNATIONAL Cabinet Approvals with Foreign Countries: Cabinet approved Memorandum of Cooperation between India and Japan in the field of Healthcare and Wellness, Environmental Cooperation, Cooperation in the Postal field. 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. MoU between India and Tajikistan on Cooperation on Peaceful uses of Space Technology for Development. MoU between India and Russia on Joint Activities under Human Spaceflight Programme. MoU between India and Zimbabwe for cooperation in the field of geology, mining and mineral resources. MoU between India and Uzbekistan on Cooperation in the exploration and uses of Outer Space for peaceful purposes. MoU between India and Armenia on joint issue of postage stamp. MoU between India and Algeria on Cooperation in the field of Space Sciences, Technologies and Applications. Surat Leads the Race as India Claims Top 10 Of World's Fastest rowing cities According to Oxford Economics report, the top 10 fastest growing cities in the world from 2019 to 2035 are in India. Gujarat‟s Surat tops the list .followed by Uttar Pradesh‟s Agra and Banglore. 175th Meeting of the OPEC Conference & one day 5th OPEC and Non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting held in Vienna, Austria The next OPEC and Non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting will convene in Vienna, Austria in April, 2019. 1441, Opp. IOCL Petrol Pump, CRPF Square, Bhubaneswar-750015 1 Ph. : (0674) 6556677, 8093556677. Web : www.vanik.org, E-mail : [email protected] DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS: 09.12.2018 TO 11.12.2018 About OPEC : Organisation.12 of.2018 Petroleum Exporting Countries ♦ Headquarters: Vienna, Austria..2018 ♦ Secretary-General: HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo. ♦ Member Countries: 15 (earlier),.11.2018 After withdrawal of Qatar it is 14 now. ♦ Founded in Baghdad, Iraq in 1960. ECONOMY RBI Governor Urjit Patel resigned citing personal reason, amid tension between RBI & GOI on various issues. ADB enters an arrangement with World Bank for co-financed projects Asian Development Bank (ADB) has entered into an arrangement with the World Bank to put in place a single framework that will make co-financed projects more efficient. ADB‟s first Alternative Procurement Arrangement (APA) with the World Bank will allow procedures on co-financed projects to follow a single procurement framework. Conference on ‘Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code – A New Paradigm for Stressed Assets’ held in New York, USA The conference was organised by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) jointly with the Consulate General of India, New York, USA. The Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Mr. Arun Jaitley addressed the conference via Video Conferencing. Dr. M. S. Sahoo, Chairperson, IBBI also addressed at the function. The Conference was followed by a roundtable with prospective stakeholders of the Indian insolvency regime which witnessed participation of many international fund houses and law firms. India to retain top position in remittances with $80 billion:World Bank India retain 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). The Bank estimates that officially recorded remittances to developing countries will increase by 10.8% to reach $528 billion in 2018, against a 7.8% growth in 2017. Global remittances, which include flows to high-income countries, are projected to grow by 10.3 per cent to $689 billion. A foreign remittance is money transferred from a foreign worker to their family or other individuals in their home countries. United Nation Launches New Framework To Combat Terrorism UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres launched a new framework, the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact, to combat the scourge of international terrorism and coordinate efforts across the peace and security, humanitarian, human rights and sustainable development sectors. Exim Bank Extends USD 500 mn Loan To Tanzania Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) extended a credit facility of USD 500 million to Tanzania for water supply projects in the country. Exim Bank also signed an agreement in May 2018, with the Tanzania government for making available a Government of India-supported line of credit of USD 500 million for the purpose of financing water supply schemes. India inks pact with Iran to pay crude bill in rupee India has signed an agreement with Iran to pay for crude oil it imports from the Persian Gulf nation in rupees. Indian refiners will make rupee payments in a UCO Bank account of the National Iranian Oil Corp. India is the second biggest purchaser of Iranian oil after China and third‟s biggest oil consumer. Iran is its third largest supplier after Iraq and Saudi Arabia and meets about 10 percent of total needs. India, the world‟s third biggest oil consumer, meets more than 80 per cent of its oil needs through imports. India tops in road deaths; globally fatalities increase by 1 lakh in 3 years: WHO report The United Nations had declared the 2010-2020 as the Decade of Action for Road Safety. 1441, Opp. IOCL Petrol Pump, CRPF Square, Bhubaneswar-750015 2 Ph. : (0674) 6556677, 8093556677. Web : www.vanik.org, E-mail : [email protected] DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS: 09.12.2018 TO 11.12.2018 According to the report,at .12this.2018 rate, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) target 3.6 to halve road traffic deaths by 2020 will not.2018 be met. PERSON IN NEWS Mexico's Vanessa Ponce de.11 Leon.2018 wins Miss World 2018. The winner of Miss World 2018 is Miss Mexico Vanessa Ponce De Leon.Manushi Chhillar who was Miss World 2017, crowned her successor. Atul Sahai: The government announced that Atul Sahai will be appointed as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of New India Assurance (NIA) for a five year period replacing G Srinivasan. Rattan Lal : 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). The Glinka World Soil Prize, named after the pioneering Russian scientist Konstantin D. Glinka, is considered the highest honour in the soil science profession. Forbes released The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women of 2018. The list is topped by German Chancellor Angela Merkel,followed by UK Prime Minister Theresa May and IMF MD managing director Christine Lagarde . Four Indians who were featured in the list were: IT stalwart Roshni Nadar Malhotra ranking 51st in the list, Biotechnology pioneer Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw ranking 60th, Media mogul Shobhana Bhartia at 88th position and Actor Priyanka Chopra at 94th spot. Pakistani Nobel Peace Prize-winner Malala Yousafzai won 2018 Gleitsman Award by Harvard University Pakistani Nobel Peace Prize-winner Malala Yousafzai was honored by Harvard University in the United States for her work promoting girls‟ education. Yousafzai became the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 when she was recognised for her global work supporting schooling for all children. Krishnamurthy Subramanian: The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), chaired by PM Narendra Modi, appointed Krishnamurthy Subramanian as Chief Economic Advisor for a period of 3 years. He is currently serving as Associate Professor of Finance (with tenure) and Executive Director for the Centre for Analytical Finance at the Indian School of Business, a top business school in India. He would replace Arvind Subramanian who resigned from the post on 20 June 2018.