IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF DECEMBER 23rd & 24th, 2018
IMPORTANT
CURRENT AFFAIRS OF DECEMBER 23rd & 24th ,
2018
1.
The government of Burundi has declared Gitega as
the country’s new political capital.
a. Bujumbura, the
previous capital of Burundi, will serve as the economic capital of
the country.
b. President
Nkurunziza had made this promise of shifting the capital in 2007 which has been
implemented now.
c. About Burundi :
i) President : Pierre
Nkurunziza
ii) 1st Vice
President : Gaston Sindimwo
iii) 2nd Vice
President : Joseph Butore
iv) Official
Languages : Kirundi, French, English
v) Currency : Burundian
franc
2.
India and China concluded the 7th edition of
‘Hand-in-Hand’ military exercise in China’s Chengdu city.
a. Note : The
‘Hand-in-Hand’ military exercise did not take place last year due to prevailing
tensions between both sides after 73-day military standoff at Doklam
3.
Kisan Diwas (National Farmers Day) is
observed on 23rd December.
a. This day is
being observed to celebrate the birthday of Chaudhary Charan Singh, the fifth
Prime Minister of India.
4.
National Consumers Day / National Consumers Right Day is observed
on 24th December with the objective of providing better
protection of consumer's interest.
a. This day is
being observed since the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was enacted on this day
in 1986.
b. Theme of
National Consumers Day 2018 : “Timely Disposal of Consumer Complaints”
5.
Aiming to reduce the number of mob lynchings in the state,
the Manipur Assembly today passed the 'Manipur Protection
from Mob Violence Bill'.
a. This bill
recommends life imprisonment for those involved in mob
violence if it results in the death of a victim.
6.
The “Asiatic Lion Conservation Project” has been launched
by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change(MoEFCC).
a. The main
objective of this project is to work for the conservation of the world’s last
ranging free Asiatic Lion population and the ecosystem associated with it.
b. This project
will be funded under the ‘Development of Wildlife Habitat (CSS-DWH)’ scheme
which is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme
c. The total
budget of the “Asiatic Lion Conservation Project” for 3 years stands at about
Rs. 9784 lakh.
d. The cost will
be borne in the 60:40 ratio by the Central and State government.
7.
A 20-year-old Pune woman Vedangi Kulkarni has
become the fastest Asian to cycle the globe.
a. She has
completed the 29,000 km distance required to qualify as bicycling across the
globe.
8.
An accountability court today handed ousted Pakistan
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif 7 years in jail and a fine
of $2.5 million in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case.
a. Note : Sharif was
in July 2017 disqualified by Supreme Court over Panama Papers scandal.
9.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today released a Rs. 100
commemorative coin in honour of former Prime Minister Atal
Bihari Vajpayee, who passed away earlier this year.
a. Features of
this Coin :
i) The
commemorative coin features the Emblem of India on the front face.
ii) The words
Satyamev Jayate are inscribed below the Lion Capital of Ashoka Pillar in
Devanagri script.
iii) Also
inscribed on the coin are the words 'Bharat' in Devanagri and 'India' in Roman
script.
iv) The coin's
value -- Rs 100 -- is also inscribed below the national emblem.
v) The reverse
side of the coin features a portrait of Atal Bihari Vajapyee and his name
inscribed in both Devanagari and Roman.
vi) The years
1924 and 2018 are inscribed below Vajpayee's portrait to mark the year of his
birth and death respectively.
10.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has shortlisted
six IT majors to set up Public Credit Registry (PCR) for
capturing details of borrowers and wilful defaulters.
a. They are :
i.
TCS
ii.
Wipro
iii.
IBM India
iv.
Capgemini Technology Services India
v.
Dun & Bradstreet Information Services India
vi.
Mindtree.
11.
India has successfully test-fired nuclear strategic ballistic
missile Agni-IV from Dr Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha
coast as a part of user trial by the Army.
a. The missile
has a 4,000-km strike range and is equipped with advanced avionics, 5th
generation on board computer and distributed architecture.
b. This is the
7th trial of Agni-IV missile.
12. The National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has created the coldest
known place in the Universe inside NASA’s Cold Atom Laboratory
(CAL) at the International Space Station.
a. The
researchers successfully produced clouds of "ultracold" atoms
which can reach a fraction of a degree above absolute zero temperature.
13. American
multinational technology company Google has selected 87
news organisationsfrom 23 countries for funding under its Global News
Initiative (GNI).
a. Of these 87
organisations selected, 10 are from India.
b. The funding aims
at helping the organisations in building video capabilities and experiment with
new formats for video journalism.
c. The news
firms selected from India are : Factly, Asianet News Media and
Entertainment, NDTV, India Today, Bharatiya Digital Party, Nyooz and Video
Volunteers.
14. To offer
broadband internet services to users worldwide, China has
launched its 1st communication satellite.
a. The
communication satellite was launched using a Long March 11 carrier
rocketwhich took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in
north-western China.
b. It is CASIC’s
(China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation) first satellite
launch under China’s Hongyun project.
c. The satellite
aims to rival Google and other companies which have similar plans for providing
Internet services worldwide.
15.
The Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata
Banerjee has been awarded the Skoch Chief Minister of
the Year Award for the year 2017.
a. The award was
given to her for her contribution in the overall development of West Bengal as
West Bengal emerged as the best-performing state in the field of Governance.
16. Prime
Minister Narendra Modi today announced the institution of 'Sardar Patel
Award for National Integration', which would be given for "outstanding
efforts to further national integration".
17. The Union
Government has announced to confer the Prime Minister’s Shram Awards
2017 to 40 workers across country.
a. These
awardees have been selected among the workers of Departmental Undertakings
& Central and State Government PSUs and Private Sector companies having 500
or more workers.
b. This year, no
one was awarded the prestigious Shram Ratna Award.
18. Indian
Railways bagged 17 awards at the 'National Energy Conservation
Awards (NECA) 2018' held in New Delhi.
a. Out of the
five categories, Indian Railways participated in three categories- railway
stations, hospitals and institutions.
b. The awards
are given by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency under the Ministry of Power to
various institutions for adopting energy efficiency measures.
19.
Veteran Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and former
West Bengal minister Nirupam Sen (72) passed away.
a. Sen had
handled the industrial reconstruction, planning and power portfolios in West
Bengal under the Buddhadeb Bhattacharya cabinet in 2001.
20. Former Mumbai
Mayor and Padma Shri awardee Nana Chudasama (85) passed
away.
a. He was
honored with Padma Shri award in 2005 in recognition of his work in the social
sector.
21.
US President Donald Trump has appointed Deputy Defence
Secretary Patrick Shanahan as the acting
Defence Secretary.
a. He will
replace Jim Mattis on 1st January 2019.
22.
Formula One drivers have chosen Mercedes' British driver Lewis
Hamilton as the Best Driver of the 2018 season.
a. Hamilton
registered 11 victories alongside 11 pole positions and 17 podium finishes from
21 races.
23. Belgium
Football team came at number one position in the End-of-the-year
FIFA global rankings.
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