Latest Current Affairs – December 16 2018
1. Bhupesh Baghel named new Chhattisgarh Chief Minister
State Congress chief Bhupesh Baghel has been named as the new Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh. This is the third time Baghel has won from the Patan seat in Chhattisgarh, winning twice when the constituency was part of undivided Madhya Pradesh. Congress ousted BJP in Chhattisgarh after 15 years by winning 68 out of 90 seats.
2. Wickremesinghe reinstated as Sri Lanka PM 51 days after being sacked
Ranil Wickremesinghe was reinstated as Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister on Sunday, 51 days after he was sacked by President Maithripala Sirisena. This comes a day after Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was appointed as the PM by Sirisena following Wickremesinghe’s ouster, resigned from the post. Wickremesinghe was sacked by Sirisena following differences over policy making and other issues.
3. Hubble telescope finds planet evaporating at record speed
Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have discovered a Neptune-sized exoplanet evaporating 100 times faster than planets of similar size. GJ 3470b circles a red dwarf star, whose intense radiation heats hydrogen in the planet’s upper atmosphere, causing it to escape into space. “In only a few billion years, half of the planet may be gone,” a scientist said.
4. Virat Kohli smashes his 63rd international hundred, 11th of 2018
India captain Virat Kohli smashed his 25th Test hundred during the first innings of the second Test against Australia at Perth on Sunday. Kohli has now smashed 63 international hundreds and is only behind Ricky Ponting (71) and Sachin Tendulkar (100). Kohli also became the first ever batsman to record 11 international hundreds each in two calendar years.
5. India, France agree to fight terrorism jointly
India and France have agreed to fight terrorism together, India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a joint statement. India and France also agreed to enhance their strategic partnership through cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, civil nuclear, defence and security, space, trade and economic sectors.
6. Belgium beat Netherlands to win FIH Hockey World Cup
Belgium, Olympic silver medallists, defeated Netherlands 3-2 via a penalty shoot-out to win the FIH Hockey World Cup at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. In the last edition of the World Cup at The Hague in Netherlands, Belgium had finished fifth.
7. India signs bilateral annual Haj agreement with Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage next year
Haj agreement 2019 was signed between India and Saudi Arabia by Union Minister for Minority Affairs, Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, and Haj and Umrah Minister of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Dr Mohammad Saleh bin Taher Benten at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
This year more than 2,100 women have already applied to go to Haj without ‘Mehram’ (male companion) after the Modi Government had lifted the ban on women going to Haj without Mehram last year and they had also been exempted from the lottery system.
8. OBOPAY Card: new generation pre-payment instrument for enterprise customers launched by OBOPAY, Federal Bank and MasterCard
OBOPAY, the global financial technology company, announced the launch of a new generation pre-payment instrument called- OBOPAY Card-in partnership with Federal Bank and Mastercard.
It is built as a one-stop solution that facilitates easy disbursements and payments by enterprises. The multi-wallet facility that allows dedicated payments and allocation of money for various purposes. The ‘Split transaction’ feature which provides payment flexibility to users and multiple payment scenarios among many others.
9. India’s first private UAV factory inaugurated in Hyderabad
India‘s first private sector unit for manufacturing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) was inaugurated by Telangana’s Home Minister Mohammad Mahmood Ali at Adani Aerospace Park in Hyderabad, Telangana. The 50,000 square feet facility has been built by the Adani Group and Israel-based Elbit Systems.
10. Tata Steel bags Prime Ministers Trophy for the Best Performing Integrated Steel Plant for the year 2016-17
Tata Steel Limited had been declared as the winner of the Prime Minister’s Trophy for the ‘Best Performing Integrated Steel Plant’ in the country for the performance year 2016-17 making it the fourth consecutive year for Tata Steel being honored with this coveted award.
Along with the trophy a cash award of Rs. 2 crores was also given to the company. Having won the PM’s Trophy 11 times and receiving the Certificate for Excellence twice, Tata Steel has been recognized as the best-integrated steel plant 13 times, since the inception of this award in 1992-93.
11. Eight parliamentarians were honoured by Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu
NCP chief and Rajya Sabha MP Sharad Pawar and veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi were presented the Lifetime Achievement award. Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey were selected for the Best Parliamentarians award. Four women MPs from both Houses were also be awarded for their contribution.
While actor-turned-politician Hema Malini was awarded for her outstanding work inside and outside Parliament as a first-time MP, Lok Sabha MP Rama Devi was selected as the Best Woman Parliamentarian. DMK leader Kanimozhi was presented the award for the Best Woman Parliamentarian in the Rajya Sabha.
The Best Debut Woman Parliamentarian award was be presented to Chhaya Verma. The Lokmat Parliamentary Awards is the brainchild of Lokmat Media group chairman Vijay Darda.
12. Jharkhand gets Krishi Karman award in rice category
The Union Ministry of Agriculture had selected Jharkhand for “Krishi Karman” award in the rice category.
The award which carries a cash prize worth Rs 2 crore and a citation will be given away in February 2019 by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
As a gesture of appreciation to the farmers of the state for achieving the milestone, two progressive farmers, i.e. one male and one female, would also be given ‘Agriculture Minister’s Krishi Karman Award,”
13. Iranian Film Dark Room bags ‘Suvarna Chakoram’ award at Kerala film festival
Iranian director Ruhollah Hejazi’s “The Dark Room” was selected as best film at the 23rd International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) in Thiruvananthapuram, India.
The award for best director went to Lijo Jose Pellissery for his film “Ee.Ma.Yau” from India. Iranian director Asghar Farhadi’s latest movie “Everybody Knows” was the opening film of the festival.
14. Global debt reached all-time high of USD 184 trillion, says IMF
Debt worldwide reached a record-high of $184 trillion in nominal terms, a nearly 222 per cent of the GDP in 2017, according to a report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). On average, the world’s debt now exceeds $ 86,000 per person more than 2 times the average income per-capita. The world’s top three borrowers – the US, China and Japan accounted for more than half the debt.
15. Ashok Amritraj was honoured with the French Knight of the National Order of Merit
Producer Ashok Amritraj was honoured with the French Knight of the National Order of Merit. French Minister of Europe and Foreign Minister, Mr. Jean-Yes Le Drian presided over the occasion.
Mr. Amritraj has been the producer of Hollywood films such as Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance with Nicholas Cage and 99 Homes starring Andrew Garfield. The former CEO of National Geographic Films and United Nations Goodwill Ambassador was lauded for his contribution to the world of cinema and Indo-French film industry.
16. PV Sindhu clinches her maiden World Tour Finals title
PV Sindhu won her maiden BWF World tour finals title in Guangzhou, China. In the summit clash Sindhu defeated Nozomi Okuhara of Japan 21-19, 21-17 in 1 hour and 2 minutes. It is indeed a great victory for PV Sindhu after all the silvers in the recent past. Jinx has finally been broken after being the second best in Olympics, World Championships, CWG and Asian Games.
17. NITI Aayog to organise 3rd edition of Women Transforming India Awards
Government think-tank NITI Aayog will organise the 3rd edition of the Women Transforming India Awards 2018 and launch the upgraded portal of the Women Entrepreneurship Platform. The awards were instituted to recognise and celebrate stories of exemplary women from across India. “This year’s theme is ‘Women and Entrepreneurship’ and 15 winners have been chosen through an extensive six-month long process to identify fascinating and inspiring stories of women entrepreneurs,” the release added.
