Current Affairs Update 28 December 2018
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Important Cabinet Approvals: 28 December 2018
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi met on December 28 and approved various MoUs and programmes. The list is given below.
| Country | MoU |
| Cuba | Collaboration on biotechnology |
| Republic of Korea | Collaboration Biotechnology and Bio-economy |
| Sao Tome & Principe | Cooperation in the Exploration and Uses of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes |
Further, the following proposals were also approved by the Union Cabinet:
- Submission of India’s second Biennial Update Report (BUR) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change towards fulfilment of the reporting obligation under the Convention.
- Approved the draft National Commission for Homoeopathy, Bill, 2018, which seeks to replace the existing regulator Central Council for Homoeopathy (CCH) with a new body to ensure transparency.
- Approved the draft National Commission for Indian Systems of Medicine (NCIM) Bill, 2018, which seeks to replace the existing regulator Central Council for Indian Medicine (CCIM) with a new body to ensure transparency.
- Proposal for Amendment in the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 to make punishment more stringent for committing sexual crimes against children.
- Approved the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, 2018 which was last reviewed and issued in 2011
- Approved the proposal for Amendment in the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012
- Approved an increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Fair Average Quality (FAQ) of “Milling Copra” Rs.9521/- per quintal for 2019 season from Rs. 7511/-per quintal in 2018 and the MSP of “Ball Copra” to Rs.9920/- per quintal for 2019 season from Rs. 7750/- per quintal in 2018.
- Approved to list the following seven Central Public Sector Enterprises(CPSE) on the Stock Exchange through Initial Public Offering (IPO) /Further Public Offer (FPO):
- Telecommunication Consultants (India) Ltd.[TCIL]- IPO
- RailTel Corporation India Ltd. – IPO
- National Seed Corporation India Ltd. (NSC) – IPO
- Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Limited (THDC) – IPO
- Water & Power Consultancy Services (India) Limited [WAPCOS Ltd.] – IPO
- FCI Aravali Gypsum and Minerals (India) Limited [FAGMIL]- IPO
- Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited (KIOCL) – FPO
Cabinet Approves 3 Member Crew First Human Spaceflight Programme
- The Union Cabinet has approved the Gaganyaan Programme, India’s first human spaceflight programme, under which 3-member crew will spend a minimum of 7 days in space at an overall cost of Rs 10,000 crore.
- With this space programme, India will become the fourth country in the world to send a human to space.
- The GSLV Mk III will be the launch vehicle for this mission.
- First human space flight demonstration is targeted to be completed within 40 months from the date of sanction.
- In order to gain confidence on the technology and mission management aspects, two unmanned flights in full complement will be carried out before the manned mission.
26th National Children’s Science Congress (NCSC) Begins in Bhubaneswar
- The 26th edition of National Children’s Science Congress (NCSC) was inaugurated by the Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneswar.
- The theme of the 5 days long programme (27-31 Dec) is ‘Science, Technology and Innovations: For clean, green and healthy nation’.
- About 800 students from across the country as well as 10 Asian and 7 Gulf countries are participating.
- National Children’s Science Congress (NCSC) is a nationwide Science Communication programme started in the year 1993 by National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC), Department of Science and Technology.
Bhubaneswar to host global aluminium meet in January
- Bhubaneswar, Odisha will host the 1st International Conference on Aluminium (INCAL) and will be held from January 31 to February 3.
- Theme of the event is ‘Driving Growth and Development’.
- The conference is being organised by the Aluminium Association of India (AAI) under the aegis of the Union mines ministry.
Divya Patidar Joshi of Madhya Pradesh Crowned Mrs. India 2018
- Divya Patidar Joshi has been crowned with Mrs India: My Identity Beauty Pageant 2018 held in New Delhi surpassing 24 participants.
- Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh based Divya will now represent the country in Mrs Universe contest in 2019
RBI allows Sidbi to use an existing Rs 1000-crore corpus for lending to MFIs
- Reserve Bank of India has cleared a proposal allowing SIDBI to use an existing Rs 1000-crore corpus for funding micro lenders.
- Small Industries Development Bank of India had kept this money for some other purposes and had recently sought RBI’s approval for using it for microfinance sector
Recovery Rate of NPAs under IBC at 49.6% in 2017-18
- As per the latest “Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2017-18” by Reserve Bank of India, the recovery rate under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) in 2017-18 stands at 49.6%
- Under the IBC, as against the claimed amount of Rs 9.9 lakh crore, lenders have been able to recover Rs 4.9 lakh crore, registering the highest recovery rate when compared to other channels like Lok Adalat, DRTs and SARFAESI.
- The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 is the bankruptcy law of India which seeks to consolidate the existing framework by creating a single law for insolvency and bankruptcy.
United Bank of India first PSU bank to announce capital infusion by government
- United Bank of India became the first of the country’s ailing state-run banks to announce a new cash injection from the government.
- The bank has disclosed in a filing that it will receive 21.6 billion rupees ($308 million) to improve its capital ratios.
- The move is part of the government’s plans to infuse a total 830 billion rupees into state-run banks by March, after injecting 1.06 trillion rupees so far this financial year.
India to contribute Rs 4,500 crore for Bhutan’s 12th Five-Year Plan
- India has announced that it will contribute Rs 4,500 crore to Bhutan’s 12th Five-Year Plan following a delegation-level talks headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bhutanese counterpart Lotay Tshering.
- Bhutan’s 12th Five-Year Plan runs from 2018 to 2023.
Nepal caps expenditure of its citizens in India at Rs 1 lakh per month
- Nepal has imposed a monthly limit on the amount of Indian currency its citizen can spend in India.
- Nepali citizen would be unable to spend more than ₹1 lakh per month while paying for goods and services in India.
- This has been done to deal with the growing problem of current account deficit and the balance of payment crisis.