DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: DECEMBER 18, 2018

NATIONAL

First ever Agriculture Export Policy 2018 launched by Commerce Ministry:

The Commerce Ministry has formulated India’s first ever Agricultural Export Policy with a focused plan to boost India’s agricultural exports to USD 60 billion by 2022 thereby assisting the Agriculture Ministry in achieving its target of USD 100 billion and to integrate Indian farmers and the high-quality agricultural products with global value chains and to double India’s share in world agriculture.
The Ministry of Commerce & Industry is also creating an action-oriented plan “Vision of a New India” which will highlight specific sector level interventions to bolster India’s march towards becoming a USD 5 trillion economy before 2025. The focused plans will be on boosting services sector contribution to USD 3 trillion, manufacturing to USD 1 trillion and Agriculture to USD 1 trillion.

“Uncrowned Glory – An exhibition of Ethnic Ornaments of Himachal Pradesh” inaugurated in New Delhi:

The third exhibition in the 2nd series from reserve collection titled “Uncrowned Glory – An exhibition of Ethnic Ornaments of Himachal Pradesh” was inaugurated by Dr Dharmendra Singh Gangwar, Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor, Ministry of Culture, Government of India at National Museum, New Delhi.
The exhibition aims to showcase an exquisite collection of silver and gold ornaments from different communities and regions of Himachal Pradesh.

1st Adventure Next India 2018 in Madhya Pradesh:

The Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) will hold its first Adventure NEXT event in Asia in Bhopal, the capital city of Madhya Pradesh, India.
It focused on adventure tourism by combining marketplace (chowk Bazar), meetings, networking opportunities, inspirational speakers and educational sessions together for national attendees as well as delegations from aboard.

Union Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(I/C), Giriraj Singh inaugurated a Multi-Disciplinary Training Centre (MDTC) in New Delhi:

Union Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (I/C), Giriraj Singh inaugurated a Multi-Disciplinary Training Centre (MDTC) of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) at Gandhi Darshan, Rajghat in New Delhi.
Samadhan is an industrial training institute set up on PPP mode with the MSME Ministry, to provide comprehensive industry and business-related guidance and quality knowledge to entrepreneurs, industries, corporate and institutions.

Govt sets up GoM headed by Arun Jaitley on stressed power assets:

The government has constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to vet the recommendations of a high-level panel on stressed power projects. The panel, headed by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha, had submitted its report last month.
The high-level committee had suggested setting up a mechanism to allow public financial institutions (PFIs) like REC and PFC to discount receivables from distribution companies (discoms) and make upfront payments to generating companies.

9 states achieved 100% household electrification under SAUBHAGYA: Power Ministry

Nine States have achieved complete household electrification under the Saubhagya scheme, according to the Ministry of Power. They are Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Mizoram, Sikkim, Telangana and West Bengal.
The Ministry had recently lowered the household electrification target by around 10 million homes, or about one-fourth of the earlier goal. The country is expected to achieve 100 per cent household electrification by December 31, 2018. The Power Ministry also aims to replace 1.34 crore conventional streetlights with smart and energy efficient LED lights by March, 2019.

The Dam Safety Bill, 2018 introduced in Lok Sabha:

The Dam Safety Bill, 2018 was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Mr. Nitin Jairam Gadkari.
The Bill provides for the surveillance, inspection, operation, and maintenance of specified dams across the country. The Bill also provides for the institutional mechanism to ensure the safety of such dams.

Govt forms 7-member panel under BBB to select MD for PSU insurance firms:

The government has constituted a seven-member panel to select managing directors of public sector insurance companies. According to sources, the panel would be headed by Banks Board Bureau (BBB) chairman B P Sharma.
Besides, three insurance sector experts — G N Bajpai, Mathew Varghese and T Bhargava — have been appointed on the selection panel.

INTERNATIONAL

India signed the 30-member Trans Regional Maritime Network pact in Rome, Italy:

India has signed an ascension pact to the 30-member Trans Regional Maritime Network that will give it an access to the information on ships passing through the Indian Ocean Region.
India already has bilateral White Shipping Agreements with 36 countries, they signed the agreement at Rome in Italian Naval Headquarters.

BANKING & BUSINESS

OBOPAY launches a new generation pre-payment instrument for enterprise customers:

In an effort to empower enterprises with a comprehensive disbursement and payments solution, OBOPAY, the global financial technology company, has announced the launch of a new generation pre-payment instrument in partnership with Federal Bank and Mastercard.
The OBOPAY card is built as a one-stop solution that addresses all needs of the enterprise and users seamlessly and can be used at over three million Mastercard outlets in India.

RBI grants 40 branch licenses to Bandhan Bank:

Reserve Bank of India has allowed Bandhan Bank to open as many as 40 more branches, first time after it put a restriction on the bank’s branch opening spree three months back.

Global debt hits all-time high of USD 184 trillion: IMF

The global debt has reached an all-time high of USD 184 trillion, with three countries — the United States, China and Japan accounting for more than half of it, the International Monetary Fund. Earlier this year, the IMF had calculated the global debt to be around USD 182 trillion.

ADB retains India FY19 growth forecast at 7.3% despite downs:

The Asian Development Bank has retained India’s economic growth forecast at 7.3 per cent for the current fiscal and 7.6 per cent for 2019-20, despite downside risks posed by stress in the non-banking sector, limited fiscal space as well as escalating trade tensions.
India is maintaining growth momentum on rebounding exports and higher industrial and agricultural output.

AWARDS & HONOURS

Tata Steel bags Prime Minister’s Trophy for the ‘Best Performing Integrated Steel Plant’ for the year 2016-17:

Tata Steel has been declared as the winner of the Prime Minister’s Trophy for the ‘best performing integrated steel plant’ in the country for the performance year 2016-17. This makes it the fourth consecutive year of Tata Steel being honoured with this coveted award.
Since the inception of this award in 1992-93, Tata Steel has been recognised as the best integrated steel plant 13 times, having won the PM’s Trophy (PMT) 11 times, and has received the certificate for excellence twice.

Delhi Police enters Limca Book of Records by training over 2 lakh women in self-defence:

Delhi Police has entered the Limca Book of Records by training over two lakh women and girls under their self-defence programme in 2017.
Started in 2002, the Delhi Police’s self-defence programme is carried out by the Special Police Unit For Women and Children (SPUWAC) and 9,80,456 women under 5,140 programmes have been trained till November this year.

APPOINTMENTS

Shri Bharat Bhushan Vyas takes Oath of Office and Secrecy as Member, UPSC:

Shri Bharat Bhushan Vyas, IAS (J&K 1986) (Retd.) took the Oath of Office and Secrecy as Member, Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The Oath was administered by Shri Arvind Saxena, Chairman, UPSC.

Justice Tarun Agarwala appointed Securities Appellate Tribunal presiding officer:

Justice Tarun Agarwala, retired Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court, has been appointed as the presiding officer in the Securities Appellate Tribunal, Mumbai.
The Securities Appellate Tribunal is a statutory body established under the provisions of Section 15K of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992, to hear and dispose of appeals against orders passed by the SEBI or by an adjudicating officer under the Act.

T.C. Barupal appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Guinea:

Shri T.C. Barupal, presently Consul General of India, Zanzibar has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Guinea.

SPORTS

Bhubaneswar to host one of Hockey Series Finals in 2019:

The Capital of Odisha, Bhubaneswar is set to host one of the three Hockey Series Finals to be held from June 6 to 16 next year.
The Hockey Series is open to national teams that are not playing in the Hockey Pro League. It was announced by Odisha Sports Minister Chandra Sarathi Behera in the presence of International Hockey Federation (FIH) President Narinder Batra.

Pakistan to host 2020 Asia Cup; final venue unclear:

The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) have awarded the hosting rights for the Asia Cup in 2020 to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). However, the final venue for the tournament remains unclear over whether it will be played in Pakistan or the UAE.
The tournament is scheduled to be played in September 2020 and will be played in the T20 format. It is set to precede the 2020 ICC T20 World Cup.

IMPORTANT EVENTS OF THE DAY

National Energy Conservation Day 2018-December 14:

National Energy Conservation Day is marked every year in India on 14 December, to drive mass awareness about the importance of energy efficiency and conservation.
The Energy Conservation Act in India was executed by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in the year 2001, a constitutional body that comes under Government of India and helps in the development of policies and strategies in order to reduce the energy use.