11th December Current Affairs: Awards 1. Fidel Castro awarded China’s Confucius Peace Prize • Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro is this years winner of Chinas Confucius Peace Prize, portrayed by organisers as an alternative to the Nobel Prize, which they see as biased against China. • Castro bested more than 20 nominees including South Korean President Park Geun-Hye, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a regional group led by Moscow and Beijing, to win this years Confucius Peace Prize. Banking 1. SBI launches first home-grown economic indicator • The public sector lender has created two indices - the SBI Monthly Composite Index and the SBI Yearly Composite Index. Both fulfil complementary purposes such as month-on-month sentiment movement and year-on-year growth forecast, respectively. • The indices will be released every month after Reserve Bank of Indias (RBI) credit growth numbers • State Bank of India (SBI) launched a tool that will primarily track manufacturing activity to offer a forward-looking economic trends, giving the country another monthly economic index. Appointments 1. Anurag Jain appointed as the Joint Secretary in Prime Ministers Office • Jain, a 1989 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, is presently working as Joint Secretary in Department of Financial Services under the Finance Ministry here, an order issued by Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said. • Jain has been appointed for the balance period of his central deputation, i.e. Till June 28, 2016, the DoPT said. Books – Writers 1. Pranab Mukherjee’s book ‘The Dramatic Decade: The Indira Gandhi Years’ • President Pranab Mukherjee’s book The Dramatic Decade: The Indira Gandhi Years takes the readers through the economic and social unrest of the period leading up to the Emergency, the rise and fall of leaders, and splits within the Congress party. • According to the author, East Pakistan’s struggle for independence in 1971, the oil crisis of 1973, the Emergency in 1975 and the advent of coalition politics in 1977 were among the developments that signaled a ‘’turning point in the history of independent India’’. At many points in the book, the 13th President of India comes close to justifying the idea of Emergency. • The Dramatic Decade, from Rupa Publications. Economy 1. India is the brightest spot in Asia Pacific region: S&P • India has emerged as the brightest spot in the Asia Pacific region as reform has picked up pace in the country in recent months, a top credit rating agency has said. • Confidence has improved and growth momentum is now at around seven per cent, S&P said in its latest quarterly updates on credit conditions in North America, the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America and Europe. 2. RIL forms JV with Chinas Shandong Ruyi for textile business • To reposition its textile business and expand globally, Reliance Industries Tuesday announced a joint venture with Chinas USD-three billion Shandong Ruyi Science and Technology Group. • The JV firm, where Reliance Industries will own 51 percent stake and Shandong Ruyi will have 49 percent, also plans to bring some global brands to India while benefiting from the strength of RILs Vimal brand. 3. Reliance Capital to sell Yatra stake for Rs 500 cr • Reliance Capital is all set to sell its 16 per cent stake in leading travel portal Yatra for an estimated Rs 500 crore and is in talks with 2-3 international investors. • The deal would mark an over 12-times appreciation for this investment by Reliance Capital, the financial services arm of Anil Ambani-led business conglomerate Reliance Group, which had acquired a 16 per cent stake in the online travel company for Rs 40 crore in 2006. International 1. Google said it plans to close its news-linking service in Spain in response to legislation under which publishers will soon be able to force Internet sites to pay for re-publishing headlines or snippets of news. • In a statement, the search giant said the new law makes the Google News service unsustainable and that it will remove Spanish publishers from Google News sites worldwide and shut down this service in Spain on 16 December. • The move also means readers in Latin America and around the globe will no longer find links to articles from any Spanish news publishers on Google News. • The change to the copyright law, which is set to take effect in January, only applies to news aggregation sites such as Google News or domestic rival Meneame. 2. The Prime Minister of Crimea, the former Ukrainian territory annexed by Russia, arrived for unofficial talks in New Delhi as President Vladimir Putin met Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a summit. • Sergey Aksyonov met a Mumbai businessman to discuss boosting trade with the Black Sea region. India does not support Western sanctions against Russia, but the meeting may prove an irritant before President Barack Obama visits India in January 2015. • Russian officials declined to comment, but a senior diplomat arrived with Mr. Aksyonov at an upscale New Delhi hotel for the meeting to sign a memorandum with a business group called the Indian-Crimean Partnership. National 1. Nirmala says No compromise at WTO • Minister of State (Independent) for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman assured the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that the government would not compromise on national interests during WTO negotiations. She said the new decisions of the General Council were “an improvement” upon the Bali agreement which was “imperfect.” • Asserting that it was the sovereign right of the country to do course correction, she said that under the new decisions, WTO members would not challenge the public stockholding programmes of developing countries for food security purposes which would remain in perpetuity until a permanent solution regarding the issue was “agreed and adopted.” 2. Approval for amendments to Lokpal Act • The approved amendments to the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act pave the way for the inclusion of Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge in the selection panel. • “The Act, as now proposed to be amended, seeks to provide for the alternative of leader of the single largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha, an official release said. 3. India seek road maps for commitments to climate fund • Union Minister of State for Environment Prakash Javadekar called for a clear road map for funding while appreciating the contributions to the GCF. • Mr. Javadekar, in an attempt to infuse some life to the dying Adaptation Fund, lauded Germany’s contribution of €55 million to the fund announced and suggested this could be the implementing arm of the GCF. • He said the world would need to spend annually $600 billion to $1500 billion on climate actions and if there was no clear road map then outcomes would be sub optimal. Persons in News 1. Indias Ruhi Singh wins Miss Universal Peace and Humanity title • Ruhi Singh became the first ever Miss Universal Peace and Humanity title winner at an event held in Lebanon. She has been gratified with USD 50,000. • Ruhi, who represented India at Miss Universal Peace and Humanity, won the crown beating competitiors from 145 other countries and is also the first person from India to win this title. Seminars - Meetings 1. Russias state-owned Rosatom said it would supply 12 nuclear energy reactors for India over 20 years, under an agreement aimed at boosting nuclear energy cooperation signed by the two countries during a summit in New Delhi. • A 1,000-megawatt reactor is operating at the Russian-built Kudankulam power station in Tamil Nadu, with a second due to come onstream in 2015. • Russian President Vladimir Putin had been pushing for Rosatom to increase the number of reactors it could supply to as many as 25. • Indian officials say that a total of six reactors will be built at Kudankulam, with a further six to follow at a site that has not yet been determined. Special Days 1. International Mountain Day was Observed On December 11 • International Mountain Day is celebrated on December 11, 2014. • The day was designated by the United Nations General Assembly in 2003, as they encouraged the international community to organize events at all levels on that day to highlight the importance of sustainable mountain development. The day is observed every year with a different theme relevant to sustainable mountain development. • 2014 Theme: Mountain Farming. 2. UN declares June 21 as International Day of Yoga • The UN general assembly on Thursday adopted an India-led resolution declaring June 21 as International Day of Yoga, recognizing that Yoga provides a holistic approach to health and well-being. • The resolution on International Day of Yoga was introduced by Indias ambassador to UN Asoke Mukerji and had 175 nations joining as co-sponsors, the highest number ever for any general assembly resolution. • U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the International Day of Yoga would bring attention to yogas holistic benefits. Sports 1. Sarita receives her Asian Games bronze medal • Boxer Sarita Devi finally received her Asian Games bronze medal which she had refused at the victory ceremony in Incheon under controversial circumstances with the Indian Olympic Association secretary-general Rajeev Mehta presenting it to her. • Sarita was provisionally suspended by the International Boxing Federation (AIBA) after she refused to accept her medal following a controversial semifinal loss in the Asian Games. Surveys 1. India last among BRICS in Web index • India ranks behind China and other BRICS nations in a comprehensive index aimed at measuring the Internet’s contribution to social, economic and political progress. • India ranks 48 among 86 countries .These ranks are on the basis of the social, economic and political impact of the Internet. The Web Index released by the World Wide Web Foundation.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 14:57:32 +0000
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