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IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF DECEMBER 19^th, 2018

              IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF DECEMBER 19^th, 2018

1.     India has been ranked at 108th in the recently released Gender Gap Index 2018 by World Economic Forum. 

a.      India was ranked at the same position in 2017 rankings as well.

b.      Top 10 Countries in 2018 Gender Gap Index

i)      Iceland (for the 10th consecutive year)

ii)    Norway 

iii) Sweden 

iv)  Finland

v)    Nicaragua 

vi)  Rwanda 

vii)             New Zealand 

viii)          Philippines 

ix)  Ireland 

x)     Namibia

2.     Merriam-Webster Dictionary has declared ‘Justice’  as the 2018 Word Of The Year. 

a.      As per Merriam-Webster says, the word ‘Justice’ is used in many phrases like racial justice, social justice and obstruction of justice.

3.      (19th December) is Goa's Liberation Day.

a.      It was on this day in the year 1961, Goa was liberated from the Portuguese rule after a prolonged freedom struggle and military operation.

4.     Nation paid tributes to Ram Prasad Bismil & Ashfaqulla Khan, remembering the sacrifices of these revolutionaries .

a.      These both were hanged on this day (19th December) in the year 1927 by British rulers during Kakori Revolution (Kakori Conspiracy).

5.     The government has approved the revamped Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs) scheme. 

a.      Under this scheme, Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs) will be set up in every block where Scheduled Tribes population is more than 50% and has at least 20,000 tribal persons.

b.      A budget of Rs. 2,242 crore during 2018-19 and 2019-20 has been approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) for rolling out this scheme.

c.      These schools will be run by an Autonomous Society, on the lines of  Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti. This society will be under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

6.     The Lok Sabha today passed the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016, which bans commercial surrogacy. 

a.      The bill allows 'altruistic' surrogacy, which involves an arrangement where the couple does not pay the surrogate mother any compensation other than the medical and insurance expenses related to the pregnancy.

b.      Moreover, the surrogate mother must be a 'close relative' of the intending couple.

7.     The Lok Sabha also passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016, which seeks to empower the transgender community in the country by providing them a separate identity. 

a.      The bill which was introduced in the parliament two years ago has been passed with 27 amendments.

b.      Aim of this bill : To define transgenders and prohibit discrimination against the transgender community.

8.     Haryana Government has launched a mobile app named as ‘Shiksha Setu’.

a.      The ‘Shikhsa Setu’ App will help in bringing transparency in the Education Department and in the administration of colleges in the state. 

b.      Also, the connectivity between students, parents, teachers and administration will be improved through this mobile application.

9.     India’s largest Cancer Institute, National Cancer Institute (NCI), has opened in Jhajjar, Haryana for public services. 

a.      The National Cancer Institute will be formally inaugurated in January 2019.

10.The IDFC Bank has merged completely with the non-banking financial company Capital First into a new entity to be called as IDFC First Bank.

a.      The merger between IDFC Bank and Capital First was announced on 13th January 2018. 

b.      The new bank i.e. IDFC First bank will have a loan asset book of Rs 1.03 lakh crore.

c.      Important Note : The founder & chairman of Capital First Ltd, V Vaidyanathan,  has been appointed as the MD & CEO of the newly formed IDFC First bank.

11.Bollywood Actress Sonam Kapoor has been named India’s Person of the Year for 2018, by animal rights organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). 

a.      In 2016, Sonam was named PETA India’s Hottest Vegetarian Celebrity.

12.Famous classical singer Pandit Arun Bhaduri (75) passed away.

a.      Pandit Bhaduri, considered to be one of the masters of Bengali songs and Bhajans, was suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other respiratory ailments for quite sometime.

13.The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) today successfully launched its 35th communications satellite GSAT-7A from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. 

a.      The 2,250-kg satellite would boost Indian Air Force's defence capabilities and interlink its ground radar stations and airbases, thus reducing the reliance on ground-based stations for drones.

14.The Kaiga Atomic Power Station (Karnataka) has created a new world record, with one of its units functioning continuously without any interruption for more than 940 days.  

a.      The previous world record was held by Unit 2 of Heysham of the United Kingdom. 

15.CBI's Joint Director M Nageswara Rao, who is currently the interim CBI Director, was promoted to the rank of Additional Director by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. 

16.Karandeep Anand, an Indian-origin senior Facebook executive, has been named the Head of Workplace, the social media giant's communications tool for businesses. 

17.Indian professional squash player Joshna Chinappa has won the National Squash Women’s Singles title by defeating Urwashi Joshi in the final match.

a.      It is Chinappa's 16th National title and with this win, she has equalled the record of Bhuvaneshwari Kumari of winning 16 titles.