December 30, 2017 - Current Affairs Quiz with solutions Attempt Free MCQ

Eighteenth Meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) was held in New Delhi on December 29, 2017 under the Chairmanship of the Union Minister of Finance, Arun Jaitley. The meeting focused on pre-Budget 2018-19 consultations with the heads of financial sector regulators. Regulators presented their proposals for the Union Budget 2018-19 in context of the developments in their respective functional areas. FSDC has advised concerned Ministries/Departments to examine these proposals in detail for appropriate further decision. The meeting was also attended by senior officers of the Government of India.

Kolkata Police has issued a notification that imposes a ban on public display of weapons in Kolkata, effective from 2 January 2018 to 1 January 2019. This notification was issued by the Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar. It bans carrying of swords, spears, bludgeons, etc. in any public place in the Kolkata town or in its suburb regions. The ban excludes persons exempted from certain provisions of the Arms Act and Rules, person who has permit from Commissioner of Police, Kolkata, and weapons covered under the Arms Act, 1959.

Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the Centre for Entrepreneurship Opportunities and Learning (CEOL), in Mallikatte, Mangaluru. The Centre for Entrepreneurship Opportunities and Learning (CEOL) is aimed to promote Startup India initiative in India. This centre is a part of the ‘Startup Coast’ project. When Nirmala Sitharaman was commerce and industry minister, she initiated this project using her Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) fund. This centre would create suitable ecosystem for startups and help generation of jobs. This centre is capable of hosting up to 70 entrepreneurs.

The Chhattisgarh Government signed a MoU with Central Government for the 2nd phase of Bharat Net project. A four-party agreement was signed by the union telecommunications department, Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL), Chhattisgarh’s Information and Technology Department and Chhattisgarh Infotech Promotion Society (ChIPS). 32,466 km of optical fiber cable will be laid in 5987 Gram Panchayats of Chhattisgarh. The estimated cost for this is Rs 1624 crore. Manoj Sinha, Union Minister of State for Telecommunications, said that Chhattisgarh is the first state in India to use ring architecture technology to connect village panchayats by optical fiber.

Union Shipping Minister, Nitin Gadkari flagged off cargo movement on the Pandu-Dhubri route (on National Waterway 2) along the Brahmaputra River in Assam. Mr. Gadkari stated that transportation of cargo through Pandu-Dhubri route will reduce logistics cost and save 300 km road travel. In recent years, Central Government has undertaken initiatives to tap the potential of India’s 14500 kms of waterways. Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is working towards enabling regular cargo movement through inland waterways under the Sagarmala programme.

Assam Chief Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal launched skill development training centres across the state. Mr. Sonowal launched the centres at a programme organized by Department of Skill, Employment and Entrepreneurship at Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra in Guwahati. Assam State Government has already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government of Singapore for setting up a skill development centre having international standard at Mangaldoi. Over 10000 Assamese youth would undergo training in this centre. Assam State Government would also set up foreign language learning centres across the state which would help the youth in seeking job opportunities abroad.

Communication Minister of State (Independent Charge), Manoj Sinha informed the Parliament that Central Government has approvedRs. 4066 crore for providing internet connectivity to people in all gram panchayats (GPs) under BharatNet project. BharatNet Project, was launched by Central Government in October, 2011 with an aim to deploy high-speed optical fibre cables across rural areas of India.Its ultimate goal is to provide broadband connectivity to all 2.5 Lakh Gram Panchayats in India. The project is being implemented by Bharat Broadband Network Ltd (BBNL), a special purpose vehicle (SPV). Government has set a target to connect all GPs with high-speed broadband by March 2019.

Pakistan’s Government has decided to set up a new hydropower project of over 700 megawatts in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The project has been named Azad Pattan Hydropower Project (APHP). It is a run of river scheme on Jhelum River located in the Sudhanoti district of PoK. The project will cost USD 1.51 billion. Funding will be procured from foreign entities. It is expected to be completed by 2022. Post completion, the project will generate 3258 GWh power, which is nearly 3 per cent of the Pakistan’s annual generation. For this project, Pakistan Government authorities have sought an import tariff at Rs. 8.05 per kilowatts.

Central Government has infused over Rs. 7500 crore equity capital in six stressed public sector banks (PSBs). These six banks are Bank of India, Central Bank of India, Dena Bank, IDBI Bank, Bank of Maharashtra and UCO Bank. There was a need for capital infusion as some of these PSBs could have breached the minimum regulatory capital requirement, as mandated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), at the end of the third quarter i.e. on December 31, 2017. As per RBI norms, Banks have to maintain minimum 9% capital adequacy ratio (CAR). Capital adequacy ratio (CAR) is a measure of a bank’s capital, expressed as a percentage of a bank’s risk weighted credit exposures. Higher CAR reflects bank’s strength and ability to absorb losses. As per RBI data, capital adequacy ratio of PSBs as on September 30, 2017 was 12.2%.

Federal Bank announced a partnership with Abu Dhabi-based LuLu Exchange to leverage blockchain technology for cross-border remittances. In collaboration with Digiledge, a Bengaluru based fintech start-up, Federal Bank and Lulu Exchange have launched and successfully tested the service using blockchain technology. Blockchain technology helps organisations share data in a more trusted, distributed and extensively automated way and is thus rapidly transforming the financial and commercial world. By collaborating with multiple exchange houses abroad, Federal Bank has managed to hold a major share in the inward remittances market of India.

State-owned natural gas processing and distribution company GAIL Ltd. has placed orders for another 400-km of pipeline under Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganganatural gas pipeline project. 2655 km long Jagdishpur-Haldia & Bokaro-Dhamra Natural Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL) project is referred to as Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga Project. This gas pipeline project originates from Jagdishpur in Uttar Pradesh and extends to Haldia in West Bengal and Dhamra in Odisha while passing through Bihar and Jharkahnd. The JHBDPL project will supply environmentally clean natural gas to fertiliser and power plants, steel plants, refineries and other industries in above mentioned states. Orders for 2100 km pipeline have been awarded so far (including the latest orders for another 400-km of pipeline)

Chander Prakash and Arun Sangwan took charge as State Information Commissioners of Haryana, in Chandigarh. Chander Prakash is a retired IAS officer. Arun Sangwan is an advocate. They both took oath as State Information Commissioners of Haryana. Haryana Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki over saw the ceremony. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar was also present at the ceremony.

President Ram Nath Kovind appointed Vinay Sahasrabuddhe as the President of Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR). Vinay Sahasrabuddhe is the Vice President of BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party). He is also a Rajya Sabha member from Maharashtra. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe replaces Lokesh Chandra. He is also the vice-president of Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini, a training and research academy for elected representatives and voluntary social workers.

The Telangana government formed the State Finance Commission and appointed G Rajesham Goud as its chairman. G Rajesham Goud, former chairman of Karimnagar Zilla Parishad, will head the Telangana State Finance Commission as its chairman. M Chennaiah Kuruma, a retired Zilla Parishad CEO from Ranga Reddy district, has been appointed as a member of the Telangana State Finance Commission. Other members are to be appointed later.

Amardeep Singh Bhatia has been appointed as Director (at Joint Secretary Level) of Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO). Amardeep Singh Bhatia is a Nagaland cadre IAS officer of 1993 batch. He is currently Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. He has been appointed as Director at Joint Secretary Level of Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO).

On 29th December 2017, ISRO said that, it will launch 31 satellites in a single mission on-board its Polar rocket on 10th January 2018. This mission will be the first ‘Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle’ (PSLV) mission after the failure of IRNSS-1H launch in August 2017. Main payload of this mission is India’s Cartosat-2 series earth observation satellite. The launch will be carried out from the spaceport at Sriharikota and PSLV-C40 will be used for the launch. The mission consists of 28 nano satellites from other countries, one micro and one nano satellite, and one Cartosat satellite from India.

NASA’s flying observatory is developing its 2018 observing campaign to observe celestial magnetic fields, star-forming regions, comets and Saturn’s giant moon Titan. The observations have been scheduled between February 2018 and January 2019. Sofia is a modified Boeing 747SP jetliner which carries a 100-inch diameter telescope. This is a joint project of NASA and DLR, German Aerospace Center. Sofia will carry out the observations. High-resolution Airborne Wideband Camera-Plus (HAWC+), a new instrument, will continue research with its polarimeter.

Jitu Rai won gold medal in the men’s 50m pistol event at the 61st National Shooting Championship at National Games Shooting Range, Thiruvananthapuram, in Kerala. Jitu Rai shot 10.8 on his 24th shot and won gold medal. He also created a new national record score of 233. In the final, Omkar Singh from the Navy and Jai Singh from the Army won silver and bronze medals respectively.

Sue Grafton, author of various mystery novels passed away in Santa Barbara, California, US. Sue Grafton was 77 years old. She had been suffering from cancer of the appendix. She is well known for her alphabet novels. The alphabet novel series started from “A Is for Alibi” and ended with “Y Is for Yesterday.”