Current Affairs Update – 20 December 2018

Current Affairs Update 20 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. 20 December 2018

Jammu and Kashmir come’s under President’s rule from Dec 20, 2018

  • President’s rule has been imposed in Jammu and Kashmir on December 20, 2018 after the six-month governor’s rule came to an end on December 19, 2018.
  • Governor’s rule was imposed in the Jammu and Kashmir on June 20, 2018 after BJP withdrew its support from the PDP-BJP ruling coalition. 
  • Jammu and Kashmir has a separate Constitution according to which six months of Governor’s rule is compulsory under Article 92 before President’s rule.

Mobile app for Global Aviation Summit 2019 launched

  • The civil aviation ministry along with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has launched an official mobile app for the global aviation summit 2019 named GAS 2019.
  • The Global Aviation Summit 2019 will be held on January 15-16 2019 in Mumbai.

India’s Largest National Cancer Institute opens in Haryana

  • India largest cancer hospital, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has been opened for public service in Jhajjar, Haryana on December 18, 2018.
  • However the formal inauguration of the hospital will be held in January 2019.
  • The NCI is a project under Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). It will be headed by Dr G.K. Rath who is also the chief of Institute Rotary Cancer hospital at AIIMS.
  • The Rs 2,035 crore project was approved on December 26, 2013, and the hospital’s foundation stone was laid on January 3, 2014.

Gujarat Adjudged Best Performer in States’ Startup Ranking 2018

  • The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) on December 20 announced the results of the first ever States’ Start-up Ranking 2018 in New Delhi.
  • Based on the National Report, Gujarat has emerged as the best performing state.
  • The results are based on performance in areas namely: Start-up policy leaders, incubation hubs, seeding innovation, scaling innovation, regulatory change champions, procurement leaders, communication champions, North-Eastern leader, and hill state leader.. 
  • Categories  of Award
    • Best Performer: Gujarat
    • Top Performers: Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, and Rajasthan
    • Leaders: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana
    • Aspiring Leaders: Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal
    • Emerging States: Assam, Delhi, Goa, Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Uttarakhand. 
    • Beginners: Chandigarh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim, and Tripura
  •   A total of 27 States and 3 Union Territories participated in the exercise since it began in January 2016.

Gadkari Inaugurates Projects worth Rs 9533 Crore in Arunachal Pradesh

  • The Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Nitin Gadkari, inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for several national highway projects worth Rs 9533 crore in Arunachal Pradesh on 20 December 2018.
  • The minister inaugurated two bridges across Dibang and Lohit River System The total length of this project is 30.95 km and cost Rs 1508.30 Crore. 
  • Projects in Roing
    • The Minister visited Roing where he inaugurated the recently two-laned:
      • 25.14 km Mahadevpur to Buri Dihing section of NH-52 B (Rs 136.60 Crore)
      • 22.23 km Bordumsa- Namchik section of NH-52 B (Rs 189.91 Crore)
    • He also laid the foundation for about 96.47 km of national highways projects costing Rs 2114.82 Crore that included:
      • Two-laning of the 74.86 km Roing-Hunli Section of Hunli-Anini Road (NH-313) -Rs 1718.59 Crore
      • 2-laning of the 11.31km Hayuliang-Hawai Road section of NH-113 – Rs 256.66 Crore
      • 10.3 km Hunli-Anini section of NH-313 – Rs 139.37 Crore
  • Projects in Ziro
    • Gadkari laid the foundation for 472 km of national highways costing Rs 5583.92 Crore that include
      • 26.12 Km Akajan-Likabali-Bame road at Rs 374.73 Crore
      • 6 packages on Joram-Kolorlang Road on NH 713 for a total length of 94.39 km and cost Rs 1253.19 Crore
      • Relaunched a project for 2-laning of 351.38 km of Potin to Pangin section of NH-229 at a cost of Rs 3956 Crore

Assam Announces 3 Farmers Welfare Scheme Worth Rs 1,000 Crore

  • The state government of Assam has announced three schemes worth Rs 1,000 crore for the welfare of farmers and benefit the 27 lakh agricultural households. All 3 schemes will cover 5 lakh farmers in the 1st phase.
  • Schemes 
    • Assam Farmers’ Credit Subsidy Scheme (AFCSS)
    • Assam Farmers’ Interest Relief Scheme (AFIRS)
    • Assam Farmers’ Incentive Scheme (AFIS)
  • AFCSS
    • The state government would reimburse 25 percent of the loan amount taken by the farmers from banks, irrespective of whatever amount of loan they took and whatever amount they repaid. The scheme would benefit 2.62 lakh families of farmers and cover about Rs 500 crore.
  • AFIRS
    • Currently three percent of the seven percent interest against farm loan is paid by the Central government and the remaining four per cent is required to be paid by farmers. To give relief to farmers, the state government has decided to pay the remaining four per cent loan. The scheme will cover around 11 lakh farmers and cost around Rs 200 crore.
  • AFIS
    • The government is focusing on bringing back the defaulting farmers into the banking system. The government will give one-time cash incentive of up to Rs 10,000 for activating the KCC accounts. The scheme will cover around 3 lakh farmers at a cost of around Rs 300 crore. 

Rajasthan government announces waiver of farm loans up to Rs 2 lakh

  • Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot has announced a loan waiver scheme for the state, clearing short-term loans of up to Rs 2 lakh from cooperative and nationalised banks.
  • The move will lead to a burden of Rs 18,000 crore on the state.
  • Entire short-term crop loan from cooperative banks will be waived.
  • Along with this, farm loan of up to Rs 2 lakh from nationalised and other banks will also be waived as on November 30, 2018 

Changing India – A Book By Former PM Manmohan Singh Released

  • India’s former prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, launched his book titled “Changing India” on December 18, 2018 during a press conference in New Delhi.
  • ‘Changing India’ is a five volumes collection of his speeches and writings since 1956 and is published by Oxford University Press.
  • Vol I: ‘India’s Export Trends and the Prospects for Self-Sustained Growth’
  • Vol II: ‘Thoughts on Trade and Development’
  • Vol III: ‘The International Economic Order and the Quest for Equity in Development’
  • Vol IV: ‘Economic Reforms: 1991 and Beyond’
  • Vol V:  ‘The Prime Minister Speaks’

RBI announces the limit for the stock of External Commercial Borrowings at 6.5% of GDP

  • The Reserve Bank of India has announced 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.
  • Based on the GDP figures as on March 31, 2018, the soft limit works out to USD 160 billion for the current financial year. 

UN General Assembly Adopts First-Ever Global Compact on Migration

  • The U.N. General Assembly has unanimously adopted the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, first-ever global cooperation framework to strengthen the international response to the global refugee crisis.
  • The 31-page outcome document was adopted by the world leaders for sharing responsibility to protect the world’s 258 million people on the move (3.4 per cent of its population) and supporting the host communities working to accommodate them.
  • The United States and Hungary were the only two nations that voted against the Global Compact on Refugees, while 181 countries voted in favor including India. The Dominican Republic, Eritrea and Libya abstained

EU Committed to Reduce New Car Emissions by 37.5 percent by 2030

  • The European Union (EU) has announced its plans to slash carbon dioxide emissions from new cars and vans by 2030.
  • The new reduction targets, designed to curb climate change, were agreed by EU governments and the European Parliament. 
  • It will require new cars sold in 2030 to emit 37.5 percent less carbon dioxide on average compared to 2021 levels. Emissions from new vans will have to be 31 percent lower.
  • The decision is a step to turn the 2015 Paris Agreement and COP24 into action.

Former India skipper Anup Kumar retires from Kabaddi

  • India’s former World Cup winning captain Anup Kumar has announced his retirement from Kabaddi. 
  • He was part of the Indian national Kabbadi team that won gold medals in the year 2010 and 2014.

International Human Solidarity Day: December 20

  • The International Human Solidarity Day: December 20
  • Purpose: To celebrate unity in diversity. It also aims to remind people on the importance of solidarity in working towards eradicating poverty.
  • The day was proclaimed by the United Nations’ (UN) General Assembly on December 22, 2005.

Click Here For Daily Current Affairs

Click Here for Daily Current Affairs Quiz

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *