Latest Current Affairs – December 02 2018
1. Bank of Maharashtra appoints AS Rajeev as MD and CEO
State-owned Bank of Maharashtra announced the appointment of AS Rajeev as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. The 54-year-old previously served as the Executive Director of Indian Bank and had also been the CFO of Vijaya Bank. He will hold the position for a period of three years or till further orders, whichever is earlier.
2. India’s 1st engineless train crosses 180 kmph during trials
‘Train 18’, India’s first engineless train on Sunday breached the 180 kmph speed limit during a test run, a top official said. “Train 18 breached the 180 kmph speed limit in the Kota-Sawai Madhopur section,” the official said. The major trials are over and Train 18 is expected to commence its commercial run from January 2019, he added.
3. India to host G20 summit in 2022, 75th year of Independence
India will host the G20 summit in 2022, when the country celebrates its 75th year of Independence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced. “Come to India, the world’s fastest growing large economy! Know India’s rich history and diversity, and experience the warm Indian hospitality,” PM Modi tweeted. Italy was to earlier host the international forum in 2022.
4. Sunil Arora takes charge as new Chief Election Commissioner
Sunil Arora, the senior-most election commissioner, took charge as the Chief Election Commissioner, succeeding OP Rawat who demitted office on Saturday. The 1980-batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre will have nearly a two-and-a-half-year tenure during which he will oversee the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The 62-year-old was appointed to the election body in September last year.
5. South African Prez to be India’s Chief Guest for Republic Day 2019
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa accepted PM Narendra Modi’s invitation to be the Chief Guest for India’s Republic Day celebrations in 2019. President Ramaphosa accepted India’s invitation on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires. This comes weeks after US President Donald Trump declined the invitation due to “scheduling constraints”.
6. Carlsen retains World Chess Championship title
World number one Norwegian Magnus Carlsen has retained his World Chess Championship title, beating US opponent Fabiano Caruana in a tie-breaker event. Carlsen beat Caruana in three time-limited games, ending the American’s hopes of becoming the first US champion since Bobby Fischer won in 1972.
7. India is the fastest growing e-commerce market: Report by Bain & Company
According to the report, India’s online retail market had a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 53% from 2013 to 2017. This rapid growth is due to heavily discount-driven e-commerce marketplaces, improvement in delivery infrastructure and increased smartphone penetration and data usage. India’s total e-commerce retail sales in 2017 were nearly $20 billion.
As per the studies, another $50 billion of online e-commerce could be introduced by adding new users and bringing back the currently inactive old users. India was in 8th rank in terms of online retail penetration among 11 countries.
8. World Gold Council appoints David Tait as next CEO
The market development organization for the gold industry, The World Gold Council announced the appointment of David Tait who has a very successful career in the financial services industry as the incoming Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
9. India to chair Kimberley Process from January 2019
The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) Plenary 2018, was held in Brussels, Belgium, in November 2018. EU handed over the Chairmanship of KPCS to India from 1st January 2019. This year was the fifteenth anniversary of KPCS.
10. First global conference on Blue Economy held in Nairobi
Kenya, Japan and Canada co-hosted the first global conference on the sustainable blue economy in Nairobi from 26 to 28 November 2018, in an event which brought together over 4,000 participants from around the world. It builds on the momentum of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the 2015 Climate Change Conference in Paris and the UN Ocean Conference 2017 “Call to Action”.
11. Telangana State signed pact with British Council
The Telangana government and British Council have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen educational and cultural cooperation and support the knowledge ambitions and economic growth of Telangana.
The signatories, Alan Gemmell, Director, British Council India, and Mr. Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, Information Technology, signed the MoU in the presence of Chief Secretary S.K. Joshi. The British Council has aimed at inspiring youngsters from across Telangana and India to build a relationship with the UK for the next 70 years. Mr. Joshi hoped that the MoU will expand the scope of the Council’s engagements in developing the skill of young people.
12. UNESCO accepted Korean wrestling as one of the worlds most treasured cultural practices
UNESCO accepted a joint bid for Korean wrestling to be recognized as one of the world’s most treasured cultural practices. This bids a new step in their reconciliation efforts of North and South Korea. The two Koreas had originally filed separate applications for their traditional form of wrestling to be recognized on the UN agency’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
The announcement is the latest in a string of symbolic gestures between Seoul and its nuclear-armed neighbor in recent months. In North Korea, it is known as Ssirum and in South Korea, it is known as Sssireum. The wrestling has been practiced at village festivals for centuries.
