Current Affairs Update – 12 December, 2016

Hello and welcome to exampundit . Here are the important Current Affairs of 12 December, 2016. These are important for the upcoming IPPB PO Mains, NIACL AO Mains, IBPS Clerk Mains, IBPS RRB Office Assistant Mains and RBI Assistant Mains 2016-17.

• India and Indonesia on 12
  December 2016 released a joint statement in New Delhi. The statement was
  released after extensive talks between the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
  and the President of Indonesia Joko Widodo.
• Joko Widodo is on a three-day
  visit to India on the invitation of Narendra Modi. This is the first bilateral
  visit to India by the Indonesian President.

1. Strategic Engagement: Both the
   leaders agreed to hold annual summit meetings, including on the margins of
   multilateral events.
2. They also welcomed the submission
   of a Vision Document 2025 by the India-Indonesia Eminent Persons Group (EPG).
3. The group had begun their work in
   early 2016 to suggest ways and means to deepen the strategic engagement up to
   2025 and beyond.
4. Defence and Security Cooperation:
   They directed the two Defence Ministers to explore collaboration between
   defence industries for the joint production of equipment including capacity
   building cooperation.
5. The Leaders highlighted the
   importance of the maritime domain to their respective countries, the
   surrounding regions, and the world.
6. Comprehensive Economic
   Partnership: The Indian Prime Minister briefed the visiting President about the
   business opportunities provided by the initiatives such as Make in India,
   Digital India, Skill India, Smart City, Swachh Bharat and Start-Up India.
7. President Widodo welcomed Prime
   Minister Modi’s initiatives in the area of renewable energy, particularly the
   establishment of the International Solar Alliance.
8. They welcomed the signing of the
   MoU between the Indonesian National Standardization Agency (BSN) and Bureau of
   Indian Standards (BIS) on Standardization Cooperation.
9. Cultural and People-to-People
   Links: Both sides agreed to enhance cooperation on youth affairs and sports and
   in this regard welcomed the signing of an MOU on Cooperation in Youth Affairs
   and Sports.
10. Cooperation in Responding to
    Common Challenges: The two leaders agreed to cooperate on common challenges
    such as terrorism, the threat to freedom of navigation, an early conclusion of
    Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership negotiations, UNSC reforms, etc.

• Uttar Pradesh tops the list of
  states with the most deposits in Jan Dhan accounts, followed by West Bengal and
  Rajasthan.
• The total deposits in Jan Dhan
  accounts stand at Rs 74,610 crore as of December 7, as per Finance Ministry
  data.
• UP has about 3.8 crore Jan Dhan
  accounts with deposits of Rs 12,021.32 crore. It is followed by West Bengal
  with 2.44 accounts and deposits of Rs 9,193.75 crore.
• Rajasthan comes in third with 1.9
  crore accounts and Rs 6,291.1 crore deposits, followed by Bihar (2.62 crore
  accounts, Rs 6,160.44 crore deposits).
• Total deposits in Jan Dhan
  accounts surged by around Rs 28,973 crore in about a month after the
  announcement of ban on old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes.
• Despite the surge, about
  one-fifth of these accounts still have no balance.

• President Pranab Mukherjee on 11
  December 2016 flagged off a ‘100 Million for 100 Million’ Campaign organised by
  the Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation. The Campaign aims at mobilising
  100 million youth and children for the upliftment of 100 million
  underprivileged children across the world.
• ‘100 Million for 100 Million’
  Campaign seeks to end child slavery, labour and violence and promote the right
  of every child to be safe and educated, over the next five years.
• The campaign was flagged off in
  presence of Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi and spiritual leader Dalai Lama.
• 11 December was celebrated as the
  81st birth anniversary of President Pranab Mukherjee. On the occasion of
  President Mukherjee’s birthday, a number of programmes were organised by the
  Rashtrapati Bhavan. Programmes included
• President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice
  President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Narendra Modi released three books
  titled ‘From Raj to Swaraj’, ‘Life at Rashtrapati Bhavan’ and ‘Indradhanush-
  Volume-2’.
• The President also inaugurated a
  new Museum for vintage tapestries and carpets and a new Hall for encouraging
  innovation in the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The museum displays Zardari canopies and
  spreads belonging to the early 1900s, for the 1911 Delhi Durbar of King George
  VI, a collection of Buddhist art, paintings, carvings and assorted gifts
  presented to different Presidents and much more.

• Alpha Design, a Bengaluru-based
  defence equipment maker on Monday announced the signing of a contract with
  Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for assembly, integration and testing
  of Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System Satellites (IRNSS).
• In the next two years, with the
  help of ISRO, Alpha Design Technologies Pvt Ltd (ADTL) will be investing in
  creating, an ultra-modern satellite manufacturing, assembly, integration,
  testing and qualification facilities, to independently supply four to five
  satellites to ISRO, the company said in a release here.
• IRNSS is an independent regional
  navigation satellite system being developed by India.
• The city-based company, a
  manufacturer and technological services provider in India’s defence and
  paramilitary markets, is known for its capabilities in delivering advanced
  defence electronics and aero structures, as well as R&D and manufacturing,
  Alpha said in a release.

• Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the Chief
  Minister of Madhya Pradesh, on 11 December 2016 launched Narmada Seva Yatra at
  Amarkantak. The yatra that will continue till 11 May 2017 (about five months)
  aims at turning the River Narmada pollution free and unceasing.
• This Narmada Sewa Yatra that will
  cover more than 1900 kilometres (from Amarkantak to Sondwa (Alirajpur)) in 16
  districts will also help in making people aware about the conservation of the
  river.
• Before kick starting the
  campaign, Chouhan performed all religious rituals and invited religious leaders
  to join the yatra. He said that he will join the campaign every week.
• All villages that lie on the bank
  of the river will have its own Narmada Sewa Samiti, which will undertake the
  follow-up action on measures for its preservation.
• Sewage water that flows into the
  river will be treated before being released into the river.
• Trees will be planted along the
  banks of the Narmada.

• Nobel Peace Laureate Jose
  Ramos-Horta strongly urged for peace in Jammu and Kashmir. He made this appeal
  on 11 December 2016 in New Delhi on the sidelines of a child slavery abolition
  programme of a non-governmental organisation (NGO).

• Dialogue is the only viable
  solution to resolve the decades-long conflict between India and Pakistan.
• An impartial military is
  necessary to achieve tension-free atmosphere in the region.
• Towards this end, the UN Military
  Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) will play a key role.
• The Government should focus on
  priority issues in the region and gradually move towards long-pending issues.

• New Zealand’s National party has
  chosen Bill English as the country’s 39th Prime Minister. He will be succeeding
  John Key, who announced his surprise resignation last week.
• English’s name was confirmed for
  the role during a National Party meeting, which took place early on 12 December
  2016. He was formerly serving the nation as the Deputy Prime Minister and
  Minister of Finance (MoF).
• While Paul Bennett will be
  replacing English as the new Deputy PM, senior Cabinet minister Steven Joyce
  has been named as the new finance minister.

• Antonio Guterres, who was the
  Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002, will be sworn-in as the UN
  Secretary General on 12 December 2016. He will succeed Ban Ki-moon as the ninth
  chief of the organisation.
• President of the UN General
  Assembly Peter Thomson administered his Oath of Office at a special plenary
  meeting of the 193-member General Assembly. After the sworn-in ceremony,
  Guterres, 67, also addressed the General Assembly.
• Guterres was unanimously
  appointed by the General Assembly as the successor to Ban, after the 15-nation
  Security Council had in October 2016 decided by acclamation to send his name to
  the Assembly for final approval.
• Guterres will assume his new role
  for a five-year tenure beginning 1 January 2017. He will serve the organisation
  till ending 31 December 2021.

• Italy’s Foreign Affairs Minister
  Paolo Gentiloni was invited by President Sergio Mattarella to form the new
  government on 11 December 2016. The decision comes in the wake of Matteo
  Renzi’s resignation following a referendum defeat in the Parliament.
• Renzi, whose term had almost
  neared three years, took the decision to resign on 4 December 2016 after voters
  rejected the constitutional reforms proposed by him.
• Gentiloni, a close aid of the
  outgoing PM, will now have to put together his own new centre-left team before
  the parliamentary confidence vote, which is due on 14 December 2016. He was
  chosen after the opposition turned down the possibility of a national unity
  government and the President rejected opposition’s demand for an immediate
  election.

• India has been ranked as the
  fourth most vacation deprived country globally, as 63 per cent take fewer days
  of the vacations that they get, according to to a report.
• “After Spain (68 per cent),
  UAE (68 per cent), Malaysia (67 per cent) and South Korea (64 per cent), India
  is ranked as the fourth most vacation deprived country globally,”
  according to Expedia ‘Vacation Deprivation report 2016’.
• The report revealed that 40 per
  cent Indians don’t use all vacation days as work schedule does not allow for
  vacation or don’t have enough staff to cover and 32 per cent are not able to
  take vacation days due to personal schedule.
• “Vacations play a critical
  role in creating work-life balance as it re-energises people to be more focused
  at work (95 per cent of Indians agree in the survey),” Expedia, India,
  Marketing Head Manmeet Ahluwalia said.
• The report was conducted on
  behalf of Expedia by Northstar, a globally integrated strategic insights consulting
  firm online from September 12-29, 2016, across North America, Europe, South
  America, and Asia Pacific.
• It was conducted among 9,424
  employed adults aged 18 years of age and older across 28 countries.

• The world’s longest tunnel,
  Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT) in Switzerland was opened for regular rail services
  on 11 December 2016.
• It got a ceremonial wave off in
  June this year with top European leaders like German Chancellor Angela Merkel
  and French President Francois Hollande hopping on to experience the very first
  ride through the marvel. It will be carrying passengers under the Swiss Alps
  from Zurich to Lugano.

• With a length of 57 kilometres
  and a depth of over 2300 metres, GBT is the world’s longest and deepest tunnel.
• It is the first flat low-level
  route through the Alps Mountain and is a part of Swiss government’s New Railway
  Link through the Alps (NRLA) programme.
• It has not only outdone the 50.5
  kilometre long Channel Tunnel connecting Britain and France but has also beaten
  Japan’s 53.9 kilometre long Seikan tunnel.
• It took 17 years to reach
  completion and its total cost amounts to around US $11.8 billion.

• US Secretary of State John Kerry
  was on 11 December 2016 honoured as the Officer of the Legion of Honour, the
  highest French civilian distinction for his contribution in peace effort.
• Kerry received the award from the
  French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault following the high level talks on
  Syria’s war by both the sides.
• Kerry has visited France
  countless times as Secretary of State for high-level diplomatic meetings on
  Syria, Ukraine and other hotspots.

• The International Mountain Day
  2016 was observed across the world on 11 December 2016 with the theme Mountain
  Cultures: Celebrating diversity and strengthening identity.
• This year celebrations are aimed
  at highlighting the Mountain Cultures. Mountains encompass communities with
  ancient cultures and traditions and are places of importance for religious
  worship and pilgrimage all over the world.
• The concept of traditional
  heritage and culture is inherently linked with livelihoods of people in the
  mountains.

• Virat Kohli, India’s captain for
  Test Cricket, on 11 December 2016 became the fifth batsman in the world to
  score three double-hundreds in a calendar year. He scored his third
  double-century in the first innings of the third test match against England.
• With this, Kohli, who fell on his
  personal score of 235runs to Chris Woakes, has joined the elite group of
  cricketers like Michael Clarke (4 centuries) in 2012, Don Bradman (3 centuries)
  in 1930, Ricky Ponting (3 centuries) in 2003 and Brendon McCullum (3 centuries)
  in 2014, who had scored three or more double hundreds in a calendar year.
• His first double-ton was scored
  against West Indies, while the second came in Indore against New Zealand. His
  third double test-century also made him the first batsman to score a
  double-century in three successive series in a year. He is also first Indian to
  score three double-tons in a year.
• His score of 235 also became the
  highest score for an Indian captain in Test cricket. The previous best score
  was 224, which was scored by Mahendra Singh Dhoni against Australia in Chennai
  in 2013.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Regards

Team ExamPundit