Current Affairs December 23, 2017

NATIONAL

India successfully test fired Surface-to-Air Missile QRSAM from Odisha coast

The indigenously developed Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air (QRSAM) short range missile, was successfully test-fired by the Defence Research and Development Organisation from a test range along the Odisha coast. It was launched from the launch pad-3 of Chandipur in Odisha, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

It is a highly mobile air defence system which can destroy multiple targets at a distance of 25 km in less than one minute. The missile has a strike range of 25 km to 30 km.

International Coffee Festival will be held in Bengaluru

The seventh edition of the India International Coffee Festival (IICF) will be held in Bengaluru.It is organised by the India Coffee Trust and State-run Coffee Board to promote the Indian coffees globally.

India has bagged the chance to host World Coffee Conference of International Coffee Organisation (ICO) in 2020. The Coffee Board of India is also working on an international branding campaign under the name India Coffee.

AYUSH Ministry opens its arms to boost the exports of Ayurvedic products

Ministry of AYUSH in collaboration with Department of Commerce,Ministry of Commerce and Industry; Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Pharmexcil to organize the International AROGYA 2017. It is the First Edition of International Exhibition and Conference on AYUSH.

The Event will showcase the strengths of AYUSH systems and the inevitable linkages with industry. The theme of the conference is ‘Enhancing the export potential of AYUSH’.

The GoI to launch ‘Ganga Gram’ project at Ganga Gram Swachata Sammelan

The government will launch the ‘Ganga Gram’ project at the Ganga Gram Swachata Sammelan in New Delhi.

It is a part of clean Ganga mission – Namami Gange, the Ganga Gram project is an integrated approach for the holistic development of villages situated on the banks of the holy river with the active participation of villagers. Already, the Centre declared all 4,470 villages on the banks of the Ganges, located in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, open defecation-free (ODF).

The government have identified 24 villages to transform them into ‘Ganga Grams’. The event will be presided over by Drinking Water and Sanitation Minister Uma Bharti.

The constituency of Drinking Water and Sanitation Minister Uma Bharti is Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh.

2nd Iranshah Udvada Utsav begins in Gujarat

The second edition of the Iranshah Udvada Utsav(IUU), a cultural festival of Parsi community begins in Gujarat.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi inaugurates the three-day festival in Ahmedabad.The festival is organized by Foundation for Development of Udvada along with Gujarat Tourism and the Udvada Samast Anjuman.

Udvada is the holiest place for Parsis from across the world. The plan is to develop Udvada as pilgrim centre.

Gujarat

Capital: Gandhinagar

Chief Minister: Vijay Rupani

Governor: Om Prakash Kohli

India’s First design University Established in Haryana

India’s first and only design university, World University of Design opened at Sonipat, Haryana. It was Promoted by Om Parkash Bansal Educational and Social Welfare Trust of Mandi Gobindgarh, Punjab.

World University of Design offers design education through a unique teaching pedagogy, advanced interdisciplinary research and international collaborations in the areas of architecture, design, interior, textile, communication, fashion, fine arts, management and many others design related courses.

Haryana

Capital: Chandigarh

Chief Minister: Manohar Lal Khattar

Governor: Kaptan Singh Solanki

INTERNATIONAL

India inks pact with Germany for Pare Hydroelectric Plant Project

A loan agreement for providing additional funding of euro 20 million was signed for the project ‘Pare Hydroelectric Plant’. It was signed under Indo-German Bilateral Development Cooperation.

The objective of the project is to generate hydroelectric power for the socio-economic development of the North Eastern region.

The government of Germany signed a loan agreement with North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) for providing EUR 80 million to India.

Germany

Capital: Berlin

Currency: Euro

Chancellor: Angela Merkel

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS

Subbarayudu appointed as Ambassador of India to the Republic of Peru

Subbarayudu has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Peru. Presently he is the Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Peru

Capital: Lima

Currency: Sol

President: Pedro Pablo Kuczynski

Airtel Payments Bank CEO quits after controversy over Aadhaar e-KYC

Airtel Payments Bank’s managing director and CEO Shashi Arora has stepped down from his position.

Shashi Arora joined Airtel in February 2006 and was appointed as the CEO of Bharti Telemedia.

Airtel Payments Bank Limited is a public limited company. It was the first company in India to receive a payments bank license from the Reserve Bank of India.

Airtel Payments Bank is headquartered in New Delhi.

Vijay Rupani re-elected as chief minister of Gujarat

Vijay Rupani will continue as chief minister of Gujarat and Nitin Patel as his deputy chief minister.

The announcement was made after the meeting of the BJP’s newly-elected legislators, which was supervised by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley at Gandhinagar in Gujarat.

BUSINESS

SBI Card and Bharat Petroleum Launches BPCL SBI Card

SBI Card and Bharat Petroleum have announced the launch of the BPCL SBI Card and claimed to be the ‘most rewarding fuel co-branded credit card in the country.’

It is launched on the Visa platform and it will offer up to five per cent savings on fuel purchases.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

Authors Mamang Dai and Ramesh Kuntal Megh Win Sahitya Akademi Award 2017

The Sahitya Akademi announced its annual Sahitya Akademi Awards 2017 in 24 languages.Authors Mamang Dai and Ramesh Kuntal Megh have won this year’s Sahitya Akademi award for their work, The Black Hill, a novel, and Vishw Mithak Sarit Sagar, a literary criticism, in English and Hindi respectively.

The Sahitya Akademi announced its annual Sahitya Akademi Awards 2017 in 24 languages. It has a prize of Rs 1 lakh.

SPORTS

Mithali Raj, Ekta Bisht selected as the ICC Women’s ODI Team of the Year

India captain Mithali Raj was named in the ICC Women’s ODI Team of the Year while left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht was the lone cricketer to find a place in the both the ODI and T20 Teams of the year announced by the world body.

Harmanpreet Kaur has found out a place in the ICC Women’s T20 Team of the Year.

England’s Heather Knight named as captain of the 50-over side and Stafanie Taylor of the West Indies appointed skipper of the 20-over side.

OBITUARY

Bengali Singer Jatileswar Mukhopadhyay Passes Away