Current Affairs Update 31 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. 31 December 2018
SBI Life Insurance Joins Hand With Allahabad Bank For Bancassurance Pact
- Leading private insurer SBI Life Insurance has tied up with state-owned Allahabad Bank to sell its policies through latter’s nearly 3,200 branches.
- The tie-up, deemed to be one of the largest bancassurance pact, will see 3,238 branches of Allahabad Bank across the country offer SBI Life’s range of protection, wealth creation and savings products to its customers to address their complete financial needs under one roof.
India to Witness Robust GDP Growth of 7.5% in 2019: CII
- The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has said that India will witness strong economic growth in the range of 7.5 percent in 2019.
- As per the chamber, better demand conditions, settled GST implementation, capacity expansion from growing investments in infrastructure, continuing positive effects of reform policies and improved credit offtake especially in the services sector at 24 per cent will sustain the country’s robust GDP growth.
ESAF Gets RBI’s Nod to Operate as Scheduled Bank
- ESAF Small Finance Bank Ltd has received the RBI’s approval for inclusion in the second schedule of the RBI Act, 1934, within two years of its commencement of operations.
- This makes ESAF Small Finance Bank the fifth scheduled bank from Kerala.
- ESAF micro finance institution, started in 1992, was one among the ten applicants to receive approval from RBI to start banking operations in 2016.
3rd Women’s National Boxing Championships Begins in Vijayanagara
- The third edition of Women’s National Boxing Championships began in Vijayanagara, Karnataka on 31 December 2018.
- The tournament will be held at the JSW Sports-owned Inspire Institute of Sport and will continue till January 6, 2019.
Sudhir Bhargava Appointed New Chief Information Commissioner
- The Government has appointed Sudhir Bhargava the new Chief Information Commissioner along with four new Information Commissioners in the Central Information Commission (CIC).
- Mr. Bhargava, a former Secretary to the Ministry of Social Justice, will take over as the ninth chief of the CIC with effect from January 1, 2019.
- Yashwardhan Kumar Sinha, Vanaja N. Sarna, Suresh Chandra and Neeraj Kumar Gupta are the other 4 newly appointed members. Vanaja N. Sarna is currently the only woman in the commission.
- CIC, the highest appeal body under the Right to Information Act, has been functioning with just three members as against a sanctioned strength of 11, since the former chief and several members completed their tenure last month.
- With this appointments, the total strength has been raised to 7.
Sheikh Hasina wins 3rd Straight Term as PM in Bangladesh
- Bangladesh current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has won another term as prime minister by securing nearly 82 percent of the total vote polled in the recently conducted election.
- This will be the 71 year old Hasina’s 3rd consecutive term as PM of Bangladesh
- Hasina’s ruling Awami League (AL) party won 288 votes out of a possible 300.
Pakistan Cabinet Approves to float ‘Panda Bonds’ in Chinese Currency
- Pakistan’s cabinet led by Prime Minister Imran Khan, has approved the issuance of first-ever renminbi-denominated ‘Panda Bonds’ to raise loans from China’s capital markets.
- The move is aimed at strengthening foreign exchange reserves and stabilising balance of payment position of Pakistan.
- Though, the size of the bond is not yet defined, the country expects to raise $500 million to $1 billion in different tranches with at least one tranche expected during the current fiscal year.
Smriti Mandhana Wins Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Award
- India’s opening bats-women Smriti Mandhana has won the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Award for ICC Best Cricketer of the Year 2018.
- The left-handed player has also won the ICC ODI Player of the Year Award.
- The 22 year old has also been included in ICC Women’s Team of the Year 2018 along with Poonam Yadav.
- Harmanpreet Kaur has been named captain of ICC Women’s T20I Team of the Year.
Early Internet Pioneer Larry Roberts Passes Away at 81
- Larry Roberts, one of the early architects of the internet, passed away. He was 81.
- In 1967, he was recruited by Robert Taylor in the ARPA Information Processing Techniques Office (IPTO) to become the program manager for the ARPANET
- The ARPANET was a predecessor to the modern Internet.