Current Affairs Update 24 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. 24 December 2018

Commemorative coin of Rs 100 released in honour of Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi released Rs 100 Commemorative coins in honour of Bharat Ratna recipient Atal Bihari Vajpayee on December 24, 2018 a day before his birth anniversary. 
• Features of the coin:
  • The 100-rupee coin has the name of the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee inscribed in Hindi and English.
  • The coin weighs 35 grams and has the years 1924 and 2018 inscribed to mark the years of Mr Vajpayee’s birth and death.
  • On the flipside, the coin has the Lion Capitol of the Ashoka Pillar with “Satyameva Jayate” inscribed below.

Andhra, Himachal and MP Top Performing States Under PMMVY: MoSWCD

• Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have emerged as the three top performing states under the maternity benefit programme Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana.
• The results are based on the target achieved by states/UTs under the PMMVY as on October 31 

State	Targeted Beneficiaries	Achieved	Amount Disbursed
Andhra Pradesh	3.61 lakh	4.57 lakh	Rs 133.63 crore
Himachal Pradesh	58,620	73,846	Rs 22.82 crore
Madhya Pradesh	6.20 lakh	7.69 lakh	Rs 185.66 crore

PM Modi Launches Projects Worth Over Rs 14,000 Crore in Odisha

• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi was on a day long visit to Odisha on 24 December, 2018 to inaugurate and lay foundation stone of several projects worth Rs 14,523 crore.
• These projects were related to health, road and highways, oil and gas pipeline infrastructure, higher education and culture.
• The projects are part of PM Modi’s vision of “Purvodaya: a prosperous East for building a new India”. 
• Projects Launched:
  • Inaugurated Campus of IIT- Bhubaneswar, built at a cost of Rs 1260 crore, at Argul
  • Dedicated new 100-bed upgraded ward of ESIC Hospital in Bhubaneswar 
  • Released a postage stamp & a commemorative coin on the bicentenary (200 anniversary) of 1817 Paika Rebellion. The Paika Rebellion (Paika Bidroha) was fought against British rule, in Odisha in 1817. 
  • Announced establishment of Buxi Jagabandhu Chair (research laboratory) in Utkal University. A corpus fund of Rs 5 crore will be provided by the Union Culture Ministry for the same.
  • Inaugurated archaeological museum at Lalitgiri through video-conferencing at IIT Bhubaneswar.
• Foundation Stones Laid
  • Paradip-Hyderabad products pipeline (PHPL) of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL)
  • Bokaro- Angul section of Jagdishpur- Haldia pipeline
  • Bokaro-Dhamra pipeline project of GAIL India ltd
  • Six laning of Chandikhole-Bhadrak section of NH-5 on Hybrid Annuity model
  • Four-laning of Cuttack-Angul Section of NH- 42 on engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode
  • Six laning of of Bhubaneswar-Puintola section of NH-5 of 132.14 kilometers

Manipur Assembly Passes Anti-Mob Violence Bill; Recommends Life Imprisonment

• ‘The Manipur Protection from Mob Violence Bill, 2018’ was unanimously passed in the Manipur Assembly recommending a rigorous life imprisonment term if the crime results in the death of a victim.
• The anti mob violence Bill was moved by Chief Minister N Biren Singh who also holds charge of the Home department.
• The bill was introduced in the Assembly in the wake of frequent incidents of mob lynchings in the state.

Tamil Nadu to Have India’s First Music Museum in Thiruvaiyaru

• India’s first music museum will soon be set up in Thiruvaiyaru, Tamilnadu with assistance from the Central government.
• Thiruvaiyaru is the birth place of Saint Tyagaraja, who was a renowned composer of Carnatic music, a form of Indian classical music.
• The Tyagaraja Aaradhana Music Festival is held annually in January in Thiruvaiyaru and attracts musical talents from all over the world.

10 Indian startups selected for Google News Initiative funding

• Ten media outlets from India have been selected for receiving YouTube innovation funding as part of the Google News Initiative (GNI).
• It will help newsrooms and publishers strengthen their online video capabilities and experiment with new formats for video journalism.
• Overall 87 media companies have been selected from 23 countries.
• As part of the launch of Google News Initiative in March, YouTube committed $25 million funding to support the future of news.
• The 10 news organisations from India are – Asianet News Media and Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., Bharatiya Digital Party (BhaDiPa), FACTLY, Gaon Connection, India Today Group, Live Data Visualisation Pvt. Ltd., NDTV, NYOOOZ, ShepHertz and Video Volunteers.

Indian Navy commissions its 10th Naval Hospital INHS Sandhani

• The Indian Navy Monday commissioned INHS Sandhani, its tenth Naval hospital, at the Naval station Karanja in Uran near Mumbai.

SpaceX Launches Next-Gen GPS Satellite for US – “Vespucci”

• SpaceX launched the next-generation “GPS III” satellite named “Vespucci” on its Falcon 9 rocket for the United States Air Force. Its cost is around $500 million.
• This was the first in the series of 10 satellites under the GPS III Project of Space X. SpaceX won the NSS contract with Air Force in 2016 

National Consumer Day : 24 December

• National Consumer Day: December 24
• 2018 Theme: “Timely Disposal of Consumer Complaints”. 
• It was on this day that the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was enacted.
• The Act aims to provide consumers with effective safeguards against different types of exploitation, such as defective goods, deficiency in services and unfair trade practices.

Former Union Minister Jai Narain Prasad Nishad passes away

• Former Union minister Captain Jai Narain Prasad Nishad passed away at the age of 88.
• He was an MP from the Muzaffarpur constituency in Bihar

Senior CPI (M) Leader Nirupam Sen Passes Away

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