Current Affairs Update 5 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. 5 December 2018

PM to inaugurate India’s longest rail-road bridge- Bogibeel Bridge, in Assam on Dec 25

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate India’s longest railroad bridge on December 25.
• The overpass, called Bogibeel Bridge, is in Assam and is a combined road and rail bridge over the River Brahmaputra – precisely between the districts of Dhemaji and Dibrugarh.
• The ceremony to mark the opening of the bridge coincides with the 94th birth anniversary of the former prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It was Vajpayee who laid the foundation stone of this bridge in 2002.
• The cost of the Bogibeel Bridge is Rs 4,857 crores

Centre approves SCord to tackle smuggling

• The Central government has approved Anti-Smuggling National Coordination Centre (SCord) under the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in order tackle smuggling.
• All the border agencies like BSF, ITBP, Assam Rifles, SSB and Coast Guards would be the members of SCord. 
• This will help India to formulate a national anti-smuggling policy. On a real-time basis, all these border agencies can share intelligence information in a coordinated manner.

Number of Patents Granted by India Shot Up by 50% in 2017: UN

• The number of patents granted by India shot up by 50 percent in 2017, according to the UN’s World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
• The WIPO’s World Intellectual Property Indicators 2018 report released in Geneva on December 3 showed that patents granted by India increased from 8,248 in 2016 to 12,387 in 2017 (more than double the 6,022 patents granted in 2015)
• Of the 12,387 patents, 1,712 went to entities and individuals based in India, and 10,675 to foreigners (accounted for 85 per cent of the total increase).
• China’s patent authority led the world in the number of patents granted with 420,144 and was followed by the US with 318,829.
• India was ranked 10th in the number of patents in the list.

Tourism Ministry Includes 4 new Pilgrimage Destination Under PRASAD Scheme

• The Centre has included Gangotri and Yamunotri in Uttrarakhand, Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh and Parasnath in Jharkhand under a central scheme to develop pilgrimage and heritage destinations in the country.
• With the new additions, the number of sites under the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) has now become 41 in 25 states.

JSDMS, FICCI Organise Industry Engagement Programme in New Delhi

• The Jharkhand Skill Development Mission Society and FICCI jointly organised a day long Industry Engagement Programme “ENGAGE” in New Delhi on December 5.
• ‘Employers Network for Generating Aspirational and Gainful Employment’ (ENGAGE) aims to build a sustainable linkage between Jharkhand government and Industry players. 
• The theme of the event: Skill in Jharkhand : Skilling for Future. 

Admiral Sunil Lanba Releases ‘Blue Waters Ahoy!’

• Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chief of the Naval Staff, released a book titled ‘Blue Waters Ahoy!’ on December 4 to celebrate the Indian Navy Day.
• The book chronicles around the Indian Navy’s History from 2001-10. 
• The book has been authored by Vice Admiral Anup Singh, who retired as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Naval Command in 2011. 
• This book is the sixth volume of the Navy’s history; the first five having covered the period from 1945 to 2000.

India’s Heaviest Communication Satellite GSAT-11 Launched Successfully from French Guiana

• Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) heaviest and most-advanced high throughput communication satellite GSAT-11 was successfully launched from the Spaceport in French Guiana on December 5
• India’s GSAT-11 was launched onboard launch vehicle Ariane 5 VA-246 from Kourou Launch Base. Ariane 5, a heavyweight rocket of Arianespace, also carried South Korea’s GEO-KOMPSAT-2A satellites along with GSAT-11.
• The 5854-kg GSAT-11 will provide high data rate connectivity and boost the broadband connectivity to rural and inaccessible Gram Panchayats in the country coming under the Bharat Net Project, which is part of Digital India Programme.

RBI 5th Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Review: Repo Rate unchanged at 6.5%

• The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept the benchmark Repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 6.5% in its fifth bi-monthly monetary policy review for the current financial year 2018-19 on December 5, 2018.
• The six-member Monetary Policy Committee, headed by RBI Governor Urjit Patel, began its three-day meeting on December 3. 
• The GDP growth projection for FY19 is pegged at 7.4%
• Key Policy Rates & Reserve Ratios

Repo Rate	6.50%
Reverse Repo Rate	6.25%
Marginal Standing Facility Rate	6.75%
Bank Rate	6.75%
CRR	4%
SLR	19.5%

RBI to cut SLR gradually to 18%; cut of 0.25% per quarter

• The RBI has decided to reduce statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) by 0.25 per cent (25 bps) every quarter beginning January 2019. 
• The calibrated reduction in statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) will continue till it reaches 18 per cent. The current SLR is 19.5 per cent.
• SLR is the portion of funds which banks are required to park in treasury bills and other instruments

SBI will cease to be EPFO fund manager from March-end: Labour Ministry

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