AWARDS AND HONORS

APPOINTMENTS

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

• The government has introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha that will allow it to notify the period of maternity leave and gratuity that can be availed by employees under a central law.
• Clean Drinking Water’ was declared as a Human Right by the UNO in the year 2010 and yet, the WHO lists it as one of the Top 10 Global Needs.
• The Parliament has passed the Companies (Amendment) Bill. The bill intends to strengthen corporate governance standards, initiate strict action against defaulting companies and help improve ease of doing business.
• National Mission on Monuments & Antiquities (NMMA) gets the documentation done through various Data Resource Centers viz. Universities, Institutions, Museums, State Archaeology Departments, Circles of ASI.
• The Minister of Communications Manoj Sinha has launched DARPAN – “Digital Advancement of Rural Post Office for A New India” Project to improve the quality of service, add value to services and achieve “financial inclusion” of un-banked rural population.
• India Coffee Trust in association with Coffee Board has announced the seventh edition of India International Coffee Festival (IICF) in Bengaluru from January 16 to January 19.

NEWS IN STATES

• The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet has approved a scheme to provide a pension of Rs 1500 to transgenders above 18 years of age in the state.
• A research institute for the study of the ‘Bhagavad Gita’ will be soon set up by the Uttar Pradesh government in this temple town.
• UP state’s first infertility clinic at a government hospital was launched in Lucknow at Dr Ram Manohar Lohia hospital by health minister Siddharthnath Singh.
• Mahatma Gandhi Digital Museum Store to be first of its kind in the country was inaugurated.
• The Expert Appraisal Committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has accorded environmental clearance for the Kaleshwaram irrigation project in Telangana.
• Meghalaya was became the first state in India to operationalise a law that makes social audit of government programmes and schemes a part of government practice.

CABINET APPROVALS

• The Union Cabinet has approved the Ministry of Railways’ initiative to set up the first ever National Rail and Transport University (NRTU) in Vadodara to skill its human resources and build capability.
• The Union Cabinet has given its ex-post-facto approval for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Cuba on cooperation in the field of Health and Medicine.  The MoU was signed on 06th December, 2017 in New Delhi.
• The Union Cabinet has approved setting up of National Nutrition Mission (NNM) with a three year budget of Rs 9046.17 crore commencing from 2017-18. The National Nutrition Mission will create synergy to achieve the common goal through a robust convergence mechanism.

BANKING AND FINANCE

• Jammu and Kashmir Bank has launched a finance scheme tailored for media fraternity in the state wherein a loan of up to Rs three lakh can be availed by journalists and employees of media houses in the state.
• FundsIndia.com, India’s premier investment platform for mutual funds and equities, has partnered with YES BANK to launch Unified Payments Interface (UPI) on their Android app for mutual fund payments.
• Axis Bank, India’s third largest private sector bank is launching an exclusive networking property, Axis Start-up Social, at a ‘one-of-its-kind’ event aimed at supporting the country’s start-up ecosystem.
• YES Bank and the European Investment Bank will co-finance $400-million funding for renewable power generation in the country.
• World Bank has committed USD 125 million (around Rs 800 crore) loan to India for the STRIVE project for skill development.
• The RBI has initiated additional actions under the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework for city-based United Bank of India in view of the high net NPA, low leverage ratio and the need to raise capital based on the bank’s position as on March 31, 2017.

MERGERS AND ACQUISITION

• Bharti Airtel has signed a definitive agreement with Millicom International Cellular S.A., under which its subsidiary Airtel Rwanda will acquire the entire stake in Tigo Rwanda.
• Youth television brand MTV will bring the second season of Super Fight League (SFL), the world’s first mixed martial arts tournament.

INDEX AND RANKING

• As per 2017 Global Hunger Index (GHI) Report, published by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), India ranks 100 out 119 countries.
• India has topped the list of people living abroad at 17 million with about 5 million Indians residing in the Gulf region alone, according to a new UN report.
• Globally India has been ranked as the fifth most vacation deprived country due to heavy work schedule, according to a survey.
• Britain has been crowned the world’s best country in which to do business in a major vote of confidence ahead of Brexit.
• Bollywood star Salman Khan has been ranked numero uno on the sixth Forbes India Celebrity 100 List. Shah Rukh Khan and India’s cricket captain Virat Kohli took the second and third spot respectively, with actor Priyanka Chopra the only female celebrity in the top 10 list.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

• The World Health Organisation has declared Gabon a “polio-free country”, given the lack of new reported or suspected cases in the central African country.
• France’s parliament has approved a law banning all exploration and production of oil and natural gas by 2040 within the country and its overseas territories.
• The world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, China, has launched the world’s biggest ever mechanism to reduce carbon, in the form of an emissions trading system.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Roads of the future could be lit by glowing trees instead of streetlamps, thanks to a breakthrough in creating bioluminescent plants.

DEFENCE NEWS

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has dedicated submarine INS Kalvari to the nation. The submarine was built in India with co-operation from France.
• The two-week long eighth edition of the Indo-Maldives joint military exercise, ‘Ekuverin’, will be conducted from 15 December 2017 at Belagavi, Bengaluru.

SPORTS

OBITUARY

IMPORTANT DAYS

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