Important Current Affairs Of 19th - 21st December

Current Affairs of 19^th – 21^st December

•          BSNL slashes mobile rates by up to 80% for the first two months under a scheme for new customers. The call rates have been reduced both per minute and per second billing plan, and will be valid only for the first two months of a customer's joining BSNL. New customer buying BSNL connection will have to buy plan voucher of 36 rupees for per second plan and 37 rupees for per minute plan.
•          Axis Bank has partnered with a digital security company, eMudhra to facilitate digital signature facility to its customers. The new service will facilitate a Aadhaar holder to digitally sign a document within seconds.

o   The government had launched "e­sign" services early this year as part of its digital India campaign.

•          The Kerala government proposed to set up the state's first Petcoke (Petroleum coke)­based power plant using the fuel produced from Kochi Refinery's Integrated Refinery Expansion Project (IREP).

o    The IREP, expected to be completed by May 2016, will yield approximately 1.4 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of petcoke, which can be used to produce around 500­600MW of power.

o    Note : Petcoke is a high calorific value solid fuel and is extensively used for power generation in various countries.

•          Indian boxer Vijender Singh scores hattrick in professional circuit by thrashing Bulgaria's Samet Hyuseinov in Manchester. He becomes First Indian to Score Pro­Boxing HatTrick.
•         Rugby World Cup­winner, Dan Carter (New Zealand) has been named BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year for 2015.

o    Carter beat Usain Bolt, Novak Djokovic, Katie Ledecky, Jordan Spieth and Serena Williams to the award that was decided by public vote for the first time.

•           India's Abhay Singh beats Alwin Chai of Malaysia to win boys Under­19 title at Old Chang Kee Singapore Squash Open.
•         YuvrajSingh and Manish Pandy are included in Indian team for tour of Australia.
•          Pension fund regulatory body PFRDA has started using PAN instead of Aadhaar for validation of new customers who can now be registered online under the National Pension System (NPS) scheme.

o    PFRDA ­ Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority.

•          20th December is celebrated as International Human Solidarity Day. This day is observed to celebrate unity in diversity. It also aims to remind people on the importance of solidarity in working towards eradicating poverty.

o   2015 Theme : Shared Progress & Prosperity based on global solidarity

•          Meghalaya government signed a peace pact with the United Achik Liberation Army (UALA) which was active in the Garo Hills region of the state.

o    This is the third peace pact by the state government after the ones signed with ANVC and its breakaway faction, the ANVC­B, last year.

o   UALA : The outfit was formed in 2012 with the demand for a separate Garoland to be carved out of the state. The outfit, which has a cadre strength of 71, began its dialogue with the government in December last year and held at least four round table discussions before declaring for peace officially.

•          The Supreme Court puts on hold the appointment of Justice VirendraSingh as Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta in a special sitting on Saturday 19^th December
•          Rattan Lal Hangloo, Vice­ Chancellor of Kalyani University, West Bengal, has been appointed as ViceChancellor of Allahabad University, the fourth oldest university in the country established in 1887

•          The United States has lifted a 40-year-old ban on export of crude oil on 19 December 2015.

o   The US administration on 19 December 2015 lifted the ban on the export of US crude oil, a policy enacted during the 1970s. The ban was lifted as President Barack Obama signed into law the $1.8 trillion spending package and tax bill for the current fiscal ending on 30 September 2016.

•          The 2015 Indian Super League (ISL) for football, which is India’s most prestigious professional football league, was won by Chennaiyin FC on 20 December 2015

o    Chennaiyin FC won their maiden ISL title as they defeated hosts Goa FC by 3-2 in a dramatic final at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at Fatorda (Goa).

• Stiven Mendoza emerged as the highest scorer of 2015 ISL with 12 goals.
• The 10^th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) concluded on 19 December 2015 with some landmark agreements on a series of trade initiatives. This WTO Conference was held at Nairobi (Kenya)
• It is the first such meeting hosted by an African nation. The Conference was chaired by Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Amina Mohamed.
• However, the talks ended without any commitment on rich countries being asked to check their domestic subsidies. India expressed its disappointment over non-reaffirmation to conclude 14-year-old Doha Round pacts.
• Liberia  (African country)  was formally included as a member of the WTO at its 10^thMinisterial Conference.
• President of Liberia: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
• Apart from Liberia, Afghanistan was also included in the organisation earlier.
• Mireia Lalaguna Royo from Barcelona  (Spain) won the Miss World title for 2015 which concluded at Sanya (China) on 19 December 2015. Sofia Nikitchuk of Russia was the runner-up and Indonesia’s Maria Harfanti took third place in the final.
• The pageant also had a major controversy. Miss Canada, Chinese-born Anastasia Lin, was banned by China for speaking up about human rights abuses, and was neatly left out of the show. Lin is an outspoken critic of Chinese religious policy and a follower of the Falun Gong meditation practice, which was outlawed by China in 1999.
• Indian professional boxer Vijender Singh won the third consecutive bout of his career as he knocked-out his Bulgarian opponent Samet Hyuseinov on 19 December 2015.
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