Current Affairs Update 14 December 2018
Current Affairs is an important part for many exams. Be prepared for this section with ByScoop which brings all the important Current Affairs in one place. 14 December 2018
National Medical Devices Promotion Council to be set up under DIPP
- The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, announced setting up of a National Medical Devices Promotion Council under the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in the Ministry of Commerce & Industry to boost the medical device sector.
- The announcement was made at the 4th WHO Global Forum on Medical Devices, at Andhra Pradesh Medtech Zone, in Vishakhapatnam.
- The Council will be headed by Secretary, DIPP and apart from the concerned departments of Government of India, it will also have representatives from health care industry and quality control institutions.
- Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone, Visakhapatnam, will provide technical support to the Council.
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 in Hyderabad, Telangana.
- The manufacturing unit is built by the Adani Group and Israel-based Elbit Systems. It will develop Hermes 900 medium altitude long-endurance UAVs for the Indian and global markets.
Mauritius to organise ‘Gita Mahotsav’ in 2019
- Mauritius will organise a ‘Gita Mahotsav’ in February 2019, the country’s acting President, Paramasivum Pillay Vyapoory, said.
- Mauritius is the partner country and Gujarat is the partner state in the ‘International Gita Mahotsav 2018’ inaugurated in Kurukshetra, Haryana on December 13, 2018.
Coast Guard launches ‘Operation Oliva’ to safeguard turtles
- The Coast Guard has launched the ‘Operation Oliva’ exercise along the serene sea waters of Gahirmatha marine sanctuary in Odisha to protect the endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles.
Novelist Amitav Ghosh Wins Jnanpith Award 2018
- Noted English writer Amitav Ghosh has been selected for the 2018 Jnanpith Award, the highest literary honour in the country, given to an author for “outstanding contribution towards literature”.
- Ghosh was selected for the 54th edition of the award based on the decision taken by the selection committee headed by Jnanpith laureate and novelist Pratibha Ray.
- Some of the works of Ghosh’s include The Circle of Reason (1986), Shadow Lines (1988), The Calcutta Chromosome (1995) and Sea of Poppies (2008).
B.P. Singh appointed as the Chairman of FTII
- B.P. Singh has been appointed as the new Chairman of Film Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune.
- The appointment comes almost one-and-half months after Anupam Kher stepped down as the chief of FTII.
- Brijendra Pal Singh or B.P. Singh is an Indian television producer, who owns the Fireworks Productions. He is the creator and director-producer of the Indian TV series C.I.D.
Global debt hits all-time high of USD 184 trillion: IMF
- A report by IMF states that, the global debt has reached an all-time high of $ 184 trillion, with three countries the United States, China and Japan accounting for more than half of it.
- The amount in nominal terms, is the equivalent of 225 per cent of the world GDP in 2017.
- On average, the world’s debt now exceeds 86,000 dollars per person, which is more than two and half times the average income per-capita.
India Post launches e-commerce portal
- Communications Minister Manoj Sinha has launched the e-commerce portal of the Department of Posts – ecom.indiapost.gov.in
- The Portal will provide an e-Market place to sellers especially to rural artisans / self-help groups / women entrepreneurs / State and Central PSUs / Autonomous Bodies etc. to sell their products to buyers across the Country.
SC gives clean chit to Rafale deal: All you need to know about Rafael deal
- The Supreme Court three-judge bench, led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi delivered that it cannot seek clause-by-clause compliances of Defence Procurement Procedures (DPP) in the Rafale fighter jet deal and opined that the processes have been “broadly” followed.
- The court gave the clean chit on three aspects —
- Decision-making process to purchase 36 Rafale jets instead of 126 by UPA.
- Pricing of Rafale jets
- Selection of Indian offset partners- Reliance Defence
- Total Jets- 36; Cost- Euro 7.87-billion (Rs 58,000 crore approximately)
- Reliance Group: Dassault = 51:49 joint venture named Dassault Reliance Aerospace Pvt. Ltd
Nepal bans the use of Indian currency notes of Rs 200, 500, 2000
- The Nepal government has banned the use of Indian currency notes of Rs 2,000, Rs 500 and Rs 200 denominations.
- Indian currency is extensively used by Nepalese people and businesses for their savings and transactions. The government has asked the people to refrain from keeping or carrying Indian bank notes higher than Rs 100 denomination as it has not legalised them.
- Even though Indian banknotes are not a legal tender in Nepal, it is widely used in the country due to free flowing movement of citizens and trade from both sides.
4 Indian PSU’s Among SIPRI Top 100 arms‑producing Companies
- Four Indian state owned companies figure among the world’s top 100 arms producers in 2017, according to the latest rankings released by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a Stockholm-based think tank.
- List of Indian PSU’s in the ranking
- Indian Ordnance Factories (Rank- 37)
- Hindustan Aeronautics (38)
- Bharat Electronics (64)
- Bharat Dynamics (94)
- The list has been topped by US based company Lockheed Martin followed by Boeing (US), Raytheon (US) respectively.
RBI Permits Bandhan Bank to open 40 new branches by December 31
- Kolkata based Bandhan Bank has received the RBI’s permission to open as many as 40 branches by the end of December.
- The bank would add another 40 branches by December 31, taking the total number of branches to 978.
- The central bank’s approval comes nearly three months after it had imposed restrictions on the bank’s branch expansion plans in September 2018.
Tulsi Ramsay of Ramsay Brothers dies aged at 74
- Filmmaker Tulsi Ramsay, well known for the Zee Horror Show TV series in 1993, passed away complaining chest pain problem. He was 74.
- Tulsi Ramsay, part of Ramsay brothers, was highly known for horror genre films in the 1980s and 90s
National Energy Conservation Day: December 14
- National Energy Conservation Day is marked every year in India on 14 December, to drive mass awareness about the importance of energy efficiency and conservation.
- The Energy Conservation Act in India was executed by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in the year 2001.
- BEE is a constitutional body that comes under Government of India and helps in the development of policies and strategies in order to reduce the energy use.