Current Affairs December 21, 2017
Current Affairs December 21, 2017
NATIONAL
Indian Army conducts major military exercise Hamesha Vijayee in deserts of Rajasthan
Indian Army’s Southern Command is conducting a major military exercise called Hamesha Vijayee in the deserts of Rajasthan.
The aim of Hamesha Vijayee is to assess the capabilities of the armed forces to strike deep into enemy territory and the exercise is being conducted in an integrated air-land battle scenario.
Hamesha Vijayee is going to be held from December 16 to 22 and it is being carried in the cities, Barmer and Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.
Rajasthan
Chief Minister: Vasundhra Raje
Governor: Kalyan Singh
Andhra Pradesh Govt develops ‘Gaming for Learning’ hub
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu announced that the government is trying to develop the state as an e-learning gaming hub.
The first day of the international Ed-Tech conference, Transforming Education Conference for Humanity (TECH) partnerships with Education Ministry of the Andhra Pradesh government, the Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board and the UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) to develop the State into a hub of Games for Learning.
The partnership is in line with the Vision 2029 framework of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu
Andhra Pradesh
Capital: Hyderabad
Chief Minister: N. Chandrababu Naidu
Governor: E. S. L. Narasimhan
India’s First National Rail and Transportation University in Gujarat
The Union Cabinet chaired by PM Narendra Modi approved the initiative to set up India’s first ever National Rail and Transport University (NRTU) in Vadodara, Gujarat. This initiative by Indian Railways is to skill its human resources and build capability.
A not-for-profit company under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013, will be created by the ministry of railways which will be the managing company of the proposed university.
The University will be set up as a Deemed University under de novo category as per the UGC [Institutions Deemed to be Universities] Regulations, 2016 and the funding of the new University/Institute is to entirely come from Ministry of Railways.
Ministry of Railways
Union Minister: Piyush Goyal
Constituency: Maharashtra
Central Government gives nod for Kaleshwaram Project in Telangana
The Telangana state government’s prestigious Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme has finally got the Green Nod from central government. The expert appraisal committee of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest recommended the “proposal for grant of environmental clearance” in Delhi.
The green nod for the project will be a big boost to the state government.
Telangana
Chief Minister: K Chandrasekhar Rao
Governor: E.S.L. Narasimhan
INTERNATIONAL
World Bank Provides Loans of $125 Million for STRIVE Project
The World Bank has approved $125 million (around Rs800 crore) loan to India for the STRIVE project for skill development.
STRIVE- Skills Strengthening for Industrial Value Enhancement.
The objective of the operation is to improve access to quality and market-driven vocational training as well as apprenticeships. The financing agreement was signed between the World Bank and the Finance Ministry.
World Bank
Headquarters: Washington DC, USA
World Bank President: Jim Yong Kim
India signs pact with Myanmar for Development of Rakhine State
India and Myanmar signed an agreement for socio-economic development of Myanmar’s Rakhine State.The agreement was signed by India’s foreign secretary S. Jaishankar and Myanmar’s deputy minister for social welfare, relief and resettlement U. Soe Aung on Rakhine State Development Programme.
It has been signed for socio-economic development of Myanmar’s violence hit Rakhine state from where hundreds of thousands of mainly Muslim Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh.
This MoU is the first government to government agreement.
Myanmar
Capital: Naypyidaw
Prime Minister: Aung San Suu Kyi
Delhi Ranks 7th in Most Expensive Office Locations List
According to the latest report by JLL India, Delhi has emerged as one of the most expensive premium office locations in the world. Ranked 7th in the list, rent of Delhi’s premium office location is higher than San Francisco and Dubai.
Mumbai is at 16th position in the list.
Hong Kong tops the list and there is the huge margin between the rent rates between Hong Kong and London (West), which is second in the list. New York, Beijing, Tokyo are on the third, fourth and fifth position respectively.
IMF approves $2 billion loan installment for Egypt
The International Monetary Fund has approved the third installment of USD 12 billion, three-year loan for Egypt. Till now USD 6 billion has been released to Egypt.
The IMF board approved the latest USD 2 billion disbursement under the deal signed in November 2016.
IMF
Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
CEO: Christine Lagarde
BUSINESS
RBI puts Bank of India under prompt corrective action
Bank of India (BoI) became the eighth lender to come under the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) prompt corrective action (PCA), as bad loans raised high and return on assets turned negative.
Bank of India shares fell nearly 5 percent after the RBI has placed the bank under Prompt Corrective Action Framework.
Corporation Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, UCO Bank, Central bank of India, IDBI bank, Dena Bank, United Bank of India and Bank of Maharashtra are the other banks already under prompt corrective action (PCA).
Prompt Corrective Action- To ensure that banks don’t go bust, RBI has put in place some trigger points to assess, monitor, control and take corrective actions on banks which are weak and troubled. The process or mechanism under which such actions are taken is known as Prompt Corrective Action, or PCA.
Bank of India
Headquarters: Mumbai
CEO: Dinabandhu Mohapatra
Tagline: Relationships Beyond Banking
YES Bank ties up with EIB for Clean Power Projects
YES Bank and the European Investment Bank will co-finance $400-million funding for renewable power generation in the country. Under this renewable power generation initiative, several solar projects in Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Karnataka will be established.
Of the $400-million, the EIB will fund $200 million, while the rest will be supported by YES Bank, the project promoters, and other financial institutions. The EIB loan of $200 million has a tenor of 15 years.
YES Bank
Headquarters: Mumbai
CEO: Rana Kapoor
Tagline: Experience your Expertise
European Investment Bank
President: Werner Hoyer
Headquarters: Luxembourg
AU Small Finance Bank inks pact with Sahaj e-Village
AU Small Finance Bank has announced signing an MoU with Sahaj e-Village for extending its banking service in remote areas. It has been planned to implement through Business Correspondent Agent (BC) model.
With this MoU, AU will provide banking at 90+ new locations that did not have banking access hitherto and expand our customer outreach to over 500+ locations by March 2018.
Sahaj e-Village Limited is a venture initiative of SREI Infrastructure Finance Limited (SIFL) that has been bridging the digital divide between urban and rural India under the flagship of NeGP of the Government of India.
AU Small Finance Bank
Headquarters: Jaipur, Rajasthan
Chairman: Mannil Venugopalan.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
Shree Saini Crowned Miss India USA 2017
Washington resident Shree Saini has been crowned Miss India USA 2017. While Prachi Singh from Connecticut was declared the first runner-up at the pageant, which was held at the Royal Alberts Palace in Edison, New Jersey.
Shree Saini is an anti-bullying activist. At the beauty pageant, cancer surgeon Kavita Malhotra Pattani from Florida was declared Mrs India USA 2017. Swapna Mannam, 17, from New Jersey was crowned with Miss Teen India USA 2017.
SPORTS
Messi Beats Ronaldo To La Liga Best Player Award
Lionel Messi,has received La Liga’s top scorer and best player awards for the 2016-2017 football season.
Messi scored 37 goals in league action last season to earn his fourth Pichichi award for most goals in La Liga.Lionel an Argentine professional footballer who plays for Spanish club Barcelona and the Argentina national team.
This year Cristiano Ronaldo has received Ballon d’Or award.
IMPORTANT DAYS
International Human Solidarity Day-December 20
International Human Solidarity Day is observed on December 20.
The UN General Assembly, convinced that the promotion of the culture of solidarity and the spirit of sharing is important for combating poverty, proclaimed 20 of December as International Human Solidarity Day.
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