VINTAGE

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF DECEMBER 11^th, 2018

              IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF DECEMBER 11^th, 2018

1.     (11th December) is International Mountain Day.

a.      This day was designated by the United Nations General Assembly in 2003.

b.      Theme of International Mountain Day 2018 : “#MountainsMatter”

c.      This year's theme will highlight how mountains matter for youth, water, disaster risk reduction, food, indigenous peoples and biodiversity.

2.     A UK court has ruled that 62-year-old fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya will be extradited to India in ₹9,000 crore loan default case. 

a.      Mallya, who left India in March 2016, challenged his extradition on grounds of "human rights conditions" in Indian jails in the past. 

b.      Mallya now has 14 days to appeal against the order. 

3.     Shi Yomi formally became 23rd district of Arunachal Pradesh.

a.      This new district was formally inaugurated by Arunachal Pradesh's Chief Minister Pema Khandu in the presence of Union minister of state for home, Kiren Rijiju. 

b.      It was created by bifurcating West Siang district with its headquarters at Tato.

c.      Note : In August 2018, Arunachal Pradesh Legislative assembly has passed Arunachal Pradesh Re-Organisation of Districts (Amendment) Bill, 2018 for creation of three new districts, Pakke-Kesang, Lepa Rada and Shi Yomi in the state. 

d.      Two more districts Pakke-Kesang and Lepa Rada will be formally inaugurated in the state within taking the total to 25.

4.     Telangana caretaker Chief Minister and the President of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), K Chandrashekar Rao has won from the Gajwel constituency of Telangana state by over 51,000 votes. 

5.     Mizo National Front (MNF) has secured the required majority of 21 seats in the 40-member Mizoram Assembly, thus it is set to come in power after 10 years.  

6.     Rajasthan Chief Minister and BJP candidate Vasundhara Raje has won from Jhalrapatan seat for the fourth time in a row by defeating former BJP and now Congress leader Manvendra Singh. 

7.     Mizoram Chief Minister and Congress candidate Lal Thanhawla has lost from both Serchhip and Champhai South in the state assembly elections.

8.     The Cente has rejected Karnataka government's request to recognise Lingayat as a separate religion.

9.     The Supreme Court has barred media from revealing the identity of sexual assault victims, even if they are dead or if parents provide their consent

a.      It also said that the names of victims cannot be used at public rallies or on social media platforms.

10.Indigenously developed surface-to-surface nuclear-capable ballistic missile Agni-5, which has a strike range of 5,000 km, has been successfully test-fired from Dr Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast.

a.      Agni-5, unlike others in the series, is the most advanced in terms of navigation and guidance, warhead and engine.

11.The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced that its Voyager 2 spacecraft became the second human-made object to leave the Solar System on November 5. 

a.      Voyager 2 was launched on August 20, 1977, 16 days before the Voyager 1, which had entered interstellar space in 2012. 

12.The Governor Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Urjit Patel resigned from his post with immediate effect citing personal reasons.

13.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is going to introduce new modes of customer e-verification, including live video, in financial institutions. 

a.      This comes after Supreme Court struck down Section 57 of Aadhaar Act in September, thereby nullifying biometric e-KYC.

b.      RBI is also planning to introduce a digital method that would use XML internet format to extract limited information on customers from the Aadhaar database.

14.Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today announced that the Centre has decided to increase its contribution to the National Pension System for the central government employees to 14% from 10%.

a.      The Centre also made the withdrawal of amount at the time of retirement tax free. 

15.Former Colombian president Belisario Betancur (95) passed away.

a.      He became president in 1982, after failing 3 times for the presidential election, and governed till 1986. 

b.      He was the first president under whom the rebel groups, that emerged in the 1960s, signed a peace agreement.

16.Atul Sahai has been appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of India’s largest general insurance company New India Assurance.

a.      The post had been lying vacant since July 2018 after former chairman and managing director G Srinivasan retired.

17.James Quincey was elected as the 14th chairman of the Coca-Cola Company.

a.      He is going to replace Muhtar Kent, who is going to retire in April 2019.

18.Shalindra Kumar has been appointed as the Chief Electoral Officer of Jammu and Kashmir. 

a.      He is going to replace Shaleen Kabra.

19.Walmart India, the U.S. retail major, appointed Sameer Aggarwal as its Chief Business Officer (CBO). 

20.Chandigarh based Golfer Shubhankar Sharma became the youngest Indian to clinch the Asian Tour Order of Merit with a groundbreaking 2018 season.