Current Affairs December 2, 2017
Current Affairs December 2, 2017
NATIONAL
‘Jai Kisaan’ app launched in Goa
Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar launched the Jai Kisaan App.It is an initiative of Adventz group, a conglomerate of 25 companies.
The aim of the app is to fulfil the needs of the farmer’s community in India. It gives agricultural information and cultivation, covering crop nutrition, protection, seeds, and diagnostic services .The app will not only give the farmers database but also help them with the various initiatives of the government such as the health cards.
Goa
Capital: Panaji
Chief Minister: Manohar Parrikar
Governor: Mridula Sinha
India donated 500 tonnes of rice to Kingdom of Lesotho
India donated 500 metric tonnes of rice to the Kingdom of Lesotho (in Southern Africa).The country is facing acute food shortage, the High Commissioner of India to South Africa and Lesotho, Ruchira Kamboj handed over the donation to the government of Lesotho.
Kamboj also inaugurated the India-Lesotho Centre for Advanced Information Technology at the Lerotholi Polytechnic in Maseru. This project is fully-funded by the Government of India.
Lesotho
Capital: Maseru
Currency: Lesotho loti
Prime Minister: Pakalitha Mosisili
President: Tom Thabane
Incubator for Women Startups in Telangana
Telangana government has announced that it will set up a incubation centre for startups by women entrepreneurs. K T Rama Rao, the state’s industries and IT minister, said the government would also set up a Rs 15-crore fund to meet the investment needs of these start-ups.
The government is planning to launch a series of initiatives to encourage women entrepreneurs including creation of a women startup incubator ‘WE Hub’, a first such incubator in the country.
NITI Aayog Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant announced that the Aayog will support We-Hub under the Atal Innovation Mission. The Aayog will also create a special women’s cell to ensure enhanced funding for the women entrepreneurs.
Telangana
Capital: Hyderabad
Chief Minister: K. Chandrashekar Rao
Governor: E. S. L. Narasimhan
Kathakar: International Storytellers Festival begins in New Delhi
The Minister of State for Home Affairs Shri Kiren Rijiju will inaugurate 7th edition of three day ‘Kathakar: International Storytellers Festival’. It begins at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts ( IGNCA), New Delhi.
Kathakar is the only oral storytelling festival in India and is a part of Ghummakkad Narain- the Travelling Literature Festival which was started under the aegis of UNESCO in 2010.
Another inaugural session was held ,the book ‘Curious Tales from the Himalayas‘ co-authored by Shaguna Gahilote and Prarthana Gahilote was released.
Cabinet Approves Setting up of National Nutrition Mission
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the National Nutrition Mission (NNM). NNM is a three year mission with budget of 9046.17 crore rupees and it comes under Ministry of Women and Child Development.
NNM will strive to reduce the level of stunting, under-nutrition, anaemia, and low-birth weight babies. It will also create synergy, ensure better monitoring, and issue alerts for timely action.More than 10 crore people will be benefitted by this programme.
22nd Small Farmers Agri-Business Consortium held in New Delhi
The 22nd meeting of Board of Management (BOM) of Small Farmers, Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC), chaired by Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Radha Mohan Singh was held in New Delhi.
The Scheme aims to facilitate the promotion of agri-business projects establishing backward linkages with farmers, providing assured market to their production, thereby generating employment and enhancing farmers’ income.
INTERNATIONAL
Two-days annual SCO meeting begins in Russian city of Sochi
The two-day annual meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was held in Sochi, Russia. The External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj represented India in the two-day summit. She also attended the reception to be hosted by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation, the creation of which was announced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai (China) by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
Headquarters: Beijing, China
Secretary General: Rashid Alimov
India to buy Kamov-226T helicopters from Russia
The 200 Russian light helicopter Kamov-226T, or Ka-226T, will be built using digital technology in Russia. Out of which 60 would be supplied to India in fly-away condition.
The project will be implemented on the basis of an inter-governmental agreement, under which the Russia is committed to the transfer of technologies.
Ka-226T Helicopter Programme Director is Dmitry Shvets.
India-Singapore inks Bilateral Agreement for Navy Cooperation
India and Singapore inked a naval pact, under the agreement the RSN and the Indian Navy will step up cooperation in maritime security, increase visits to each other’s ports, and facilitate mutual logistics support.
Defence Ministers of Singapore and India,Ng Eng Hen and Nirmala Sitharaman signed the pact.
Singapore
Capital: Singapore city
Currency: Singapore dollar
Prime Minister: Lee Hsien Loong
President: Halimah Yacob
India join hands with Spain on regional “Rapid Rail project”
India signed a technical cooperation agreement with Spain to launch a Rapid Rail Transit System (RRTS) under which the trains run at a speed of 180Kmph. India will get technical cooperation from Spain to design and execute Rapid Rail Transit System (RRTS)—a first-of-its-kind project in the country
Three RRTS corridors are expected to link Delhi with Meerut, Panipat and Alwar.An Indo-Spanish technical cooperation agreement was signed between the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) and the Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias (ADIF), Spain.
Spain
Capital: Madrid
Currency: Euro
Prime Minister: Mariano Rajoy
India re-elected to International Maritime Organisation Council
India has been re-elected to the Council of the International Maritime Organisation. Indian High Commissioner to the UK YK Sinha represented India at the assembly where India secured the second-highest number of votes (144).
The International Maritime Organization (IMO), known as the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO) until 1982,is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping.
IMO
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Secretary-General: Kitack Lim
APPOINTMENTS
Sibi George appointed as the next Ambassador to Holy See
Sibi George has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Holy See. He is presently Ambassador of India to Switzerland.The other name of Holy see is Vatican city
Holy see
Capital: Vatican City
Currency: Euro
President: Giuseppe Bertello
Dia Mirza appointed UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador
Dia Mirza, Actor-activist appointed United Nations Environment Goodwill Ambassador for India. she will work with the UN to spread the message on priority areas including clean air, clean seas, wildlife protection and climate change.
Pradeep Singh Kharola appointed as Air India CMD
Pradeep Singh Kharola, has been appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Air India. Mr. Kharola would replace Rajiv Bansal.
Snehlata Shrivastava appointed as Lok Sabha Secretary General
Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has approved the appointment of Senior IAS officer Snehlata Shrivastava as new Secretary-General of Lok Sabha. She will be the first woman Secretary-General of Lok Sabha.
She will replace Anoop Mishra. Her tenure will end on November 30, 2018.
SPORTS
Ankushita Boro clinched ‘Best Boxer’ title
Ankushita Boro of Assam has clinched the ‘Best Boxer’ title in World Youth Women’s Boxing Championship held in Guwahati.
As she got the fifth gold against Russia’s Ekaterina Dynnik in the 64kg final, She received this honour.
Shiva Keshavan wins Gold in Asian Luge Championships
Shiva Keshavan wins Gold in Asian Luge Championships, which is held at Altenberg, Germany. He is a Asian champion and he retained his title with a time of 55.60 seconds. He is a five time olympian.
Keshavan will represent India at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Alpensia Sliding Centre at Pyeongchang in South Korea for his record sixth Olympics.
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Current Affairs December 1, 2017
