DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: DECEMBER 25 & 26, 2018 -

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: DECEMBER 25&26, 2018

Dear Aspirants,

Daily Current Affairs (December 25 & 26, 2018) like many other sections is inevitable and this also helps to score in the Banking awareness , Static GK and Financial Awareness sections. Remember, Banking Awareness and Static Awareness Questions are asked from the General Awareness section. This will also help you to ride your preparations for the forthcoming exams.

NATIONAL

PM dedicates Bogibeel bridge to the nation and flags off first passenger train:

The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has dedicated the Bogibeel bridge in Assam, to the nation. The bridge, which spans the River Brahmaputra between Dibrugarh and Dhemaji districts of Assam, is of immense economic and strategic significance for the nation. In Kareng Chapori, on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra, the Prime Minister also flagged off the first passenger train passing through the bridge.
Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has supplied around 35400 metric tonnes of steel for the construction of Bogibeel Road-cum-Rail Bridge on the river Brahmaputra. This quantity is little more than 50% of the total quantity of steel supplied for the bridge. The 4.9 km-long bridge on the Brahmaputra river is Asia’s second longest rail-cum-road bridge. It has a serviceable period of 120 years.
He also recalled that in May 2017, he had also dedicated the country’s longest road bridge, the Bhupen Hazarika Bridge at Sadia in Assam, to the nation.

ASSAM

• Capital: Dispur

• Chief minister: Sarbananda Sonowal

• Governor: Jagdish Mukhi

Shri Nitin Gadkari delivers 31st IB Centenary Endowment Lecture in New Delhi:

The Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Shri Nitin Gadkari delivered the 31st Intelligence Bureau (IB) Centenary Endowment Lecture in New Delhi.
The Intelligence Bureau (IB) completed 100 years of its existence in 1987 and celebrated 1988 as its Centenary Year. On December 23, 1887, the Central Special Branch was set up under orders issued in London by the Secretary of State for India. The Central Special Branch was renamed as the Criminal Intelligence Bureau and, thereafter, as the Intelligence Bureau.

Fadanavis launches Vajpayee International Schools in Mumbai:

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis launched Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee International Schools in Mumbai on the occasion of 94th birth anniversary of the late Prime Minister.
The schools are affiliated to the Maharashtra International Education Board, which the state government had set up with an aim to achieve higher education standards.

MAHARASHTRA

• Capital: Mumbai

• Chief minister: Devendra Fadnavis

• Governor: C. Vidyasagar Rao

Atal Ayushman Uttarakhand Yojana launched in Uttarakhand:

‘Atal Ayushman Uttarakhand Yojana’ has been launched in the hill state. Under the scheme, each household in the state will be able to avail medical treatment of up to 5 lakh rupees annually.

Gujarat CM lays foundation stones for projects worth Rs 666 Cr:

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani laid foundation stones for projects worth 666 crore rupees across the state to mark the completion of one year in office. The projects include 5,179 newly-built classrooms of schools and colleges, nine polytechnic college buildings and 350 anganwadi centres.

Three-day India-China Film Festival was held in New Delhi:

In order to strengthen people-to-people connect and deepen cultural understanding between the two countries, an India-China Film Festival to be organized during the 1st India-China High Level Mechanism on Cultural and People-to-People Exchanges at Siri Fort Auditorium II, New Delhi by the Directorate of Film Festivals, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India.
A total of seven films including four Chinese and three Indian Films will be screened during the Festival. The opening film of the Festival will be ‘CZ12’ also known as ‘Chinese Zodiac’. The list of Indian films to be screened includes ‘Dangal’ (Hindi), ‘Maacher Jhol’ (Bengali) and ‘Ventilator’ (Marathi).

Navy commissions its tenth Naval hospital, INHS Sandhani, at Karanja Naval station near Mumbai:

The Indian Navy has commissioned a hospital ship INHS Sandhani at Naval Station Karanja in Uran in Maharashtra’s Raigad district. INHS Sandhani is the tenth Naval Hospital of the Navy. Preeti Luthra, President of Navy Wives Welfare Association (NWWA), Western Region, unveiled the commissioning plaque of the hospital.

First meeting of the Follow-up Committee between India, Afghanistan and Iran for operationalization of the Chabahar Agreement:

The first meeting of the Follow-up Committee for implementation of the trilateral Chabahar Agreement between India, Afghanistan and Iran at the level of Joint Secretary/ Director General was held in the port city of Chabahar in Iran.
It was agreed to finalise at the earliest the Protocol to harmonize transit, roads, customs, and consular matters. It was agreed to allow cargo movement at Chabahar using TIR Convention provisions. The next Follow-up Committee meeting, followed by the 2nd Coordination Council Meeting the level of Secretaries/ Deputy Ministers, will held in India in 2019.

Union Home Minister released List of Top 10 Performing Police Stations Across India in Gujarat:

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has released the list of top 10 performing police stations across the nation during the ongoing DGP conference. The top three police stations in India for 2018 are Kalu (Bikaner, Rajasthan), Campbell Bay (Andaman & Nicobar Islands) and Farakka (Murshidabad, West Bengal).
Other Stations in the list are 4^th – Nettapakkam (Puducherry), 5^th– Guderi (Karnataka), 6^th– Chopal (Himachal Pradesh), 7^th– Lakheri (Rajasthan), 8^th– Periyakulam (Tamil Nadu), 9^th – Munsyari (Uttarakhand), 10^th– Churchorem (Goa).

BANKING & BUSINESS

RBI mulls cooling-off period for its retired top officials:

According to central banking sources, the RBI has mandated a three-year cooling-off period for retired officials before they can take over as chairman or chief executive of any other entity.
There have been several instances of top RBI officials like Deputy Governor and Executive Directors taking up the position of chairman of other entities. RBI had been liberal in waiving off the one-year cooling period in the past.

APPOINTMENTS

P.V. Bharathi appointed MD and CEO of Corporation Bank:

P V Bharathi has been appointed as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation Bank, according to an order issued by the Personnel Ministry. Bharathi is at present Executive Director, Canara Bank. She will take over the charge on or after February 1, 2019 and remain in the post till March 31, 2020.
In another order, the ministry said Birupaksha Mishra and Balakrishna Alse S has been appointed as Executive Director in the Corporation Bank and the Oriental Bank of Commerce, respectively. Mishra is General Manager, Central Bank of India. Balakrishna is GM, Corporation Bank.
K Ramachandran has been appointed as Executive Director of the Allahabad Bank. He is at present General Manager, Corporation Bank. Ramachandaran will hold the office up to the date of his superannuation which is June 30, 2021.

Sangeeta Verma joins as CCI member:

The Competition Commission of India said Sangeeta Verma, a former Indian Economic Services (IES) officer has joined as its member. The CCI will now have its full strength, with one chairperson Ashok Kumar Gupta and three members. The other two members are Augustine Peter and UC Nahta.
In April, the Union Cabinet had approved “rightsizing” of antitrust watchdog Competition Commission by reducing the number of its members to three from six.

AWARDS & HONOURS

Union Minister Suresh Prabhu confers Skoch Golden Jubilee Challenger Award at the 55th Skoch Summit in New Delhi:

Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu has conferred the Skoch Golden Jubilee Challenger Award at the 55th Skoch Summit in New Delhi. The Skoch Challenger Awards are the highest independently instituted civilian honours.
The Commerce and Industry Minister was awarded for his contribution to reforms, particularly in the power sector reforms.

SPORTS

16th Mumbai Marathon to be held on 20th January 2019:

The 16th Mumbai Marathon will be held on January 20 next year and around 50,000 participants are expected to participate in the run, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said.

India’s Vedangi Kulkarni becomes fastest Asian to cycle the globe:

Indian woman Vedangi Kulkarni has become the fastest Asian to cycle the globe. Hailing from a suburb of Pune, 20-year old Vedangi cycled into Kolkata in the wee hours, completing the 29,000 kilometers’ distance required to qualify as bicycling across the globe. She spent 159 days peddling up to 300 kilometers a day in 14 countries.
Thirty-eight-year-old British adventurer Jenny Graham is the fastest woman to have cycled the globe in 124 days this year.

Real Madrid won third straight Club World Cup title with win over Al-Ain:

Real Madrid eased to a third straight Club World Cup title as Luka Modric and Sergio Ramos scored in a 4-1 final victory over home team Al-Ain in Abu Dhabi.

Bala Rafique Shaikh Wins Maharashtra Kesari 2018:

Bala Rafique Shaikh achieved the Maharashtra Kesari 2018 title by defeating Abhijeet Katke of Pune in the wrestling duel held at Azad ground, Jalna, Maharashtra.
Maharashtra Kesari is an Indian-style reputed wrestling championship, established in 1961 in Maharashtra. ‘Kesari’ is a Sanskrit word for ‘Lion’. The recent concluded was the 62nd Maharashtra Kesari Wrestling Championship.

Shiffrin first woman to reach 50 World Cup wins with Courchevel victory:

American Mikaela Shiffrin became the youngest woman to win 50 World Cup ski races with victory in the slalom in the French Alps.
The 2014 Olympic champion, who led after the first run, finished 0.29sec ahead of Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova and 0.37sec ahead of Sweden Frida Hansdotter in third place to win in Courchevel.

OBITUARY

Padma Shri awardee Sulagitti Narasamma passes away at 98:

Sulagitti Narasamma passed away in Bengaluru. She was 98. Known as the midwife of Krishnapura, a remote village in Pavagada taluk in Karnataka, the nonagenarian was honoured with Padma Shri award in March this year for her role in delivering babies safely in remote villages.

Former Union Minister Jai Narain Prasad Nishad Dies At 88:

Former Union minister Captain Jai Narain Prasad Nishad died at a hospital following prolonged illness. Mr Nishad, 88, also a former Member of Parliament in south Delhi.

Former Liberal Democrat Leader Paddy Ashdown dies aged 77:

Centrist politician Paddy Ashdown has died aged 77 after a short illness. Ashdown, who was born in India and moved to Northern Ireland as a young child, headed up the Lib Dems for more than a decade.

Bengali poet Nirendranath Chakraborty dead:

Famous Bengali poet Nirendranath Chakraborty died at a hospital following a massive cardiac arrest in Kolkata. Chakraborty was 94.
His first book of poems ‘Nil Nirjone’ was published in 1954 when he was 30 years old. He bagged the Sahitya Akademi award in 1974 besides the recipient of ‘Ananda Purashkar’.

IMPORTANT EVENTS OF THE DAY

Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birthday being celebrated as Good Governance Day:

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birthday is being celebrated as Good Governance Day across the country.
The day was established in 2014 to honour the Bharat Ratna by fostering awareness among the people on accountability in Governance and Government.

National Consumer Day observed on Dec 24:

National Consumer Day observed on December 24^th. The objective is to highlight the importance of the consumer movement and the need to make every consumer more aware of their rights and responsibilities.
The theme this year is “Timely Disposal of Consumer Complaints”.

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS QUIZ: DECEMBER 25 & 26, 2018