AWARDS AND HONOURS

APPOINTMENTS

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

• The Union government has launched the ‘Ganga Gram’ project as part of its clean Ganga mission, named Namami Gange, for holistic sanitation development in villages on the banks of  the Ganges.
• To enhance standards of cleanliness on beaches, the environment ministry has launched a pilot project for its clean-up and development.
• India is all set to get its first runway on a ‘sea bridge’ soon, as the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been given a nod to extend Lakshadweep’s Agatti Airport.

NEWS IN STATES

• Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das government will establish a world-class skill development centre at Ranchi at the cost of Rs 60 crore.
• The Maharashtra government has set up a 17-member development authority for the Raigad fort, capital of warrior king Shivaji, which would be headed by Rajya Sabha member Sambhaji Shahu Chhatrapati.
• The official logo for Bengaluru city is out. The logo, which was chosen by a panel of experts, was unveiled at the Namma Bengaluru Habba at the Vidhana Soudha by the state tourism minister Priyank Kharge.
• Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has launched six more e-services, thus bringing as many as 100 citizen-centric services pertaining to 12 departments of the state on a single platform.
• The Bihar government has decided to introduce scholarships for meritorious madrasa students in the state.
• Dabur India Ltd has inaugurated a skill development centre for women, as part of the company’s CSR campaign.
• The West Bengal government will give away 74 per cent share to the Centre to build a new major port in Tajpur as it will build a bridge over the Muriganga river to help pilgrims visiting Sagar Island.
• More than 5,000 youths from different parts of the country will attend the 22nd National Youth Festival, scheduled to be held here from January 12 to 16 in Jaipur
• The Haryana government would open an academy for training labourers engaged in construction work so that they could get better employment opportunities.
• The Haryana government has launched ‘Bhavantar Bharpayee Yojana’ in which tomato, onion, potato and cauliflower have been included for assuring farmers of fair prices for their produce and emphasising on diversification of crops.

CABINET APPROVALS

• 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 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.

BANKING AND FINANCE

• World Bank has committed USD 125 million (around Rs 800 crore) loan to India for the STRIVE project for skill development.
• Private sector lender Yes Bank has established a Medium Term Note programme to raise $1 billion (over 6,400 crore) by issuing debt securities on private placement basis.
• The Government of India, along with the Government of Tamil Nadu signed a USD 318 million loan agreement with the World Bank
• Sohan Lal Commodity Management (SLCM) has tied up with HDFC Bank and IndusInd Bank to provide collateral management services.
• The government has  cut the interest rate on small savings schemes, including public provident fund (PPF), national savings certificate (NSC) and Kisan Vikas Patra, by 0.2 percentage points for the January-March quarter, a move that will prompt banks to lower deposit rates.
• US buyout giant KKR & Co has become the first foreign investor to fully own an asset reconstruction company (ARC) in India as it received approval from the Reserve Bank of India at a time when lenders are fighting with a pile of bad loans that have crippled their businesses.
• IndoSolar has approved allotment of 20.70 crore preference shares to Union Bank of India (UBI) against part of settlement amount pursuant to the “One Time Settlement Scheme”.
• Allahabad Bank has entered into an agreement with state-run National e-Governance Services Limited (NeSL) for utilizing the latter’s Information Utility Services envisaged under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.
• State-run Bank of India has received capital infusion of Rs 2,257 crore from the government.
• State-run Dena Bank has received capital infusion of Rs 243 crore from the government. The bank has on December 29 received infusion of Rs 243 crore from the Government of India, towards contribution of central government in the preferential allotment of equity shares.

INDEX AND RANKING

• As per 2017 Global Hunger Index (GHI) Report, published by the International Food Policy India’s economy is expected to overtake that of Britain and France to become the world’s fifth largest in dollar terms in 2018 and third largest in 2032, the World Economic League Table (WELT).
• India has the highest level of non-performing assets (NPA) among BRICS countries and is ranked fifth on a list of countries with the highest levels of NPAs, a report by CARE Ratings.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

• Russia has agreed a deal to build a nuclear power station in Sudan, weeks after President al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, visited President Putin.
• China has successfully launched remote sensing satellites to conduct electromagnetic environmental probes.
• China and Pakistan will look at extending their $57 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to Afghanistan.
• Turkey and Russia have signed an accord for Moscow to supply Ankara with S-400 surface-to-air missile batteries, Turkish authorities said, finalizing a deal set to deepen military ties between NATO member Turkey and the Kremlin.

SPORTS

OBITUARY

IMPORTANT DAYS

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