Current Affairs Update – 14th December, 2016

Hello and welcome to exampundit . Here are the important Current Affairs of 14 December, 2016. These are important for the upcoming IPPB PO Mains, NIACL AO Mains, IBPS Clerk Mains and RBI Assistant Mains 2016-17.

• The Indian Railways on 13
  December 2016 tied-up with the State Bank of India (SBI) to install at least
  10000 Point of Sale (POS) machines using debit or credit cards at the Public
  Reservation System (PRS) counters of Railways.
• This tie-up was undertaken to
  promote Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to promote cashless
  transactions.

• In the first phase, 40 POS will
  be installed on priority at A1, A and B category stations in the division.
• With this, passengers will be
  able to carry out cashless transactions while booking tickets. However, cash
  will also be accepted.
• No extra fee will be charged from
  travellers, however, railways will pay 0.75 percent Merchant Discount Rate
  (MDR) through debit cards up to and above Rs 2000. This MDR will be 1.50
  percent and 2.50 percent respectively for transactions through credit cards and
  foreign cards.
• Nagpur division of Central
  Railway installed around 15 POS machines in one go, out of which, 6 were
  installed in Nagpur, four in Ajni, two in Wardha and one each in Chandrapur,
  Sindhi and Ballarshah.
• In Eastern Railways, PRS counters
  from Bihar’s Bhagalpur to the Bangladesh border will be covered, and all the
  unreserved ticketing system (UTS) counters will also be brought under the
  cashless system.
• The West Central Railway (WCR)
  has already introduced PoS machines at four railway stations in Madhya Pradesh.
• Southern Railway will install a
  total of 48 machines to give an option for travellers to make their advanced
  bookings through e-payment mode.

• India on 13 December 2016 signed
  a Grant Agreement of USD 5.19 million with International Bank for
  Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) for Additional Financing for Financing
  Energy Efficiency at MSMEs Project- Programmatic Framework for Energy
  Efficiency.
• The agreement was signed by Raj
  Kumar, Joint Secretary at Department of Economic Affairs on behalf of the Union
  Government and Junaid Ali Ahmad, Country Director of World Bank (India) on
  behalf of IBRD.
• IBRD acts as an Implementing
  Agency of the Global Environment Facility.

• The additional financing will be
  used to scale up the initiatives that were taken up under the parent project.
• It will bridge the gap in
  understanding among different stakeholders mainly energy professionals or
  technology suppliers, banks and financial institutions.
• It will be implemented through a
  three pronged approach- (i) Capacity building (ii) Direct involvement to
  augment EE investments at MSME level and (iii) Escalating the EE knowledge base
  to scale up and replicate the project initiatives such as by establishing key
  performance indicators.

• With assembly elections right
  around the corner, the Uttar Pradesh cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Akhilesh
  Yadav approved the recommendations of the seventh pay commission on 13 December
  2016.
• The decision is expected to
  benefit around 24 lakh government employees and pensioners, who will see a
  15-20% hike in their income. The hike will be effective starting January 2017.
• Yadav in his announcement stated
  that though the decision will put a heavy burden on the state exchequer, it was
  taken to benefit lakhs of government employees and these people will then help
  him form the government again with a complete majority so that they continue to
  get the benefits. He also added that the upcoming UP Assembly election will be
  historic.
• A report recommending the same
  decision was submitted to the Uttar Pradesh CM earlier by a committee
  constituted by the state government. The committee was headed by retired IAS
  officer GB Patnaik.

• The Rajya Sabha on 14 December
  2016 passed the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014 by voice vote.
  The proposed legislation will replace the Persons with Disabilities (Equal
  Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 after its
  passage by the Lok Sabha and approval of the President.
• It fulfills the government’s
  responsibilities under the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities
  to which India is a signatory. It will benefit around 2.8 crore disabled
  population in the country.

• The bill deals with a range of
  issues – rights, social protection, reservations, welfare schemes – for the all
  round development of disabled.
• The bill identifies 19 conditions
  as disabilities against the seven disabilities identified by the existing Act.
• Under the bill, persons with at
  least 40% of a disability will be entitled to reservations in education and
  employment and preference in government schemes.
• The bill also provides for a
  disabled friendly environment in public spaces such as modes of transport,
  public offices, hospitals, etc. This provision will give legal safeguards to
  the Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) of the Union Government.

• The 9th edition of Indra Navy
  exercise between Indian Navy and Russian Navy began on 14 December 2016 in the
  Bay of Bengal. This annual bilateral maritime exercise will continue till 21
  December 2016.
• The main aim of this exercise is
  to enhance the inter-operability between the two navies and develop common
  understanding for maritime security operations.
• The first edition of this
  maritime exercise between India and Russia was first held in 2003.
• Its scope includes extensive
  specialized interactions in harbor phase and on the other hand a diverse canvas
  of operational activities at sea.
• The Indian Navy will be
  represented by guided missile destroyer INS Ranvir, indigenous frigate INS
  Satpura and indigenous Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) corvette INS Kamorta.
• Additionally, P8I Long Range
  Maritime Patrol Aircraft, Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer, Dornier Short Range
  Maritime Patrol Aircraft, a submarine and other integral rotary wing
  helicopters are also scheduled to participate in this bilateral exercise.
• While, the Russian Federation
  Navy (RuFN) will be represented by Rear Admiral Eduard Mikhalov, Deputy Chief
  of Flotilla, Pacific Fleet and ships from the Pacific Fleet which are based at
  Vladivostok.

• The World Bank Group (WBG) on 13
  December 2016 halted the two concurrent processes initiated by India and
  Pakistan under the Indus Water Treaty. The Bank initiated this move in order to
  protect the treaty.
• A communication in this regard
  was sent by the World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim to finance ministers of
  both the countries. The Union Government welcomed this decision.
• India planned to construct
  Kishanganga and Ratle hydroelectric power plants on Indus River System in Jammu
  Kashmir.
• Pakistan raised objections
  against these projects claiming that they would alter the river flows and
  affect the Pakistan adversely.

• Pokemon Go, the game that has
  hooked the attention of millions of people worldwide since its launch in July
  2016, is finally going to make its debut in India.
• It will be entering the India
  market on 14 December 2016 in partnership with telecom operator Reliance Jio.
• It will be available for download
  on Google Play and App store.
• All the Reliance digital stores
  and a select of its partner locations will be designated as ‘PokeStops’ or
  ‘Gyms’.
• Owners of Jio Sim will be able to
  download and play the game without paying any data charges till 31 March 2017.
• Jio users will also have access
  to an exclusive Pokemon Go Channel through its social messaging app JioChat,
  which will enable the game’s users to collaborate and form a community of
  players.

• India has emerged as the most
  preferred destination for innovation in Asia and third biggest globally, with
  ‘Silicon Valley’ of East Bengaluru leading the charge, says a research by global
  consulting major Capgemini.
• “India has been ranked as
  the No. 1 innovation destination in Asia and No. 2 in the world for new innovation
  centres,” the report said.
• Bengaluru, which saw the opening
  of three new centres between March and October this year and an announcement by
  Apple to establish a startup accelerator, leads the Indian challenge on
  innovation and is ranked as the fifth hub at the global level.
• Nine new innovation centres were
  opened in the country during the period, taking the total number of innovation
  centres to 25. The US leads the list with 146 centres, followed by Britain with
  29 and India is at the third place with 24 centres.
• The report said there has been
  noticeable activity in tier-II cities when it comes to innovation, and added
  that apart from Pune, which already existed on the global map, Jaipur has also
  entered the list with two new centres.
• The research, done by Capgemini
  Consulting’s Digital Transformation Institute in collaboration with Fahrenheit
  212 and in partnership with Brian Solis of Altimeter said efforts taken by the
  government are the prime moving factor for the emergence of the country in the
  list.

• V G Kannan on Wednesday took
  charge as Chief Executive of the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA).
• He succeeds M V Tanksale who
  demitted office as Chief Executive on August 9, 2016 after being at the helm
  for three years.
• Kannan had retired as Managing
  Director & Group Executive (Associates & Subsidiaries) of State Bank of
  India on July 31, 2016.
• IBA is a self-regulatory
  organisation of banks. The 70-year old body has 237 members comprising public
  sector banks, private sector banks, foreign banks having offices in India,
  co-operative banks, regional rural banks, and all India financial institutions.

• Government today appointed V K
  Sharma as the Chairman of state-owned behemoth Life Insurance Corporation (LIC)
  for five years.
• Managing Director at LIC, Sharma
  was already acting as chairman since September 16 when the then chairman S K Roy
  was relieved of his duties.
• Roy had resigned in June, nearly
  two years ahead of his retirement.
• Sharma has been serving as LIC’s
  MD since November 2013.
• Having joined the body as a
  direct recruit officer in 1981, Sharma has served as the chief executive of its
  mortgage subsidiary LIC Housing Finance and zonal manager in charge of the
  south zone.

• The United Nations (UN) General
  Assembly has granted Observer Status to the International Chamber of Commerce
  (ICC) — the world’s largest business organisation representing more than six
  million members in over 100 countries.
• The decision — taken by 193
  members of the UN General Assembly during its on-going 71st session in New York
  — is the first time that a business organisation has been admitted as an
  Observer at the UN General Assembly. The list of UN observers is highly restricted
  and features principally intergovernmental organisations.
• The new role for ICC means that
  business will, for the first time, have direct voice in the UN system. The
  decision paves the way for ICC to contribute directly to the work of the
  General Assembly and reflects the vital role the private sector will play in
  implementing the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

• The book titled Courts of India-
  Past to Present was in news on 12 December 2016. The purpose of the coffee
  table book is to introduce the complexities of the Indian Judiciary to common
  public in a simple and non-technical manner.
• The primary focus of the book is
  on the evolution of higher judiciary in India in the colonial period.
• The book remarks that the
  establishment of High Courts in Bengal, Madras and Bombay provinces in the 19th
  century is the real beginning of functional higher judiciary in India.
• It covers important events like
  the establishment of Federal Court under the Government of India Act, 1935 and
  the historic trial of last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar.
• It also covered important
  judgements of the Supreme Court like Kesavananda Bharati Case (1973), Indira
  Sawhney Case (1992), SR Bommai Case (1994), etc.
• To maintain the simplicity,
  several photographs are included in the book that better illustrates the
  narrative in the book.

• Sochi, the Russian city that
  hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics, will not host the 2017 Bobsleigh and Skeleton
  World Championships.
• The International Bobsleigh and
  Skeleton Federation (IBSF) that stripped Sochi as the host of the world
  championship said, it would not be prudent to hold the championships in Russia,
  a country accused of state-sponsored doping.
• The decision came on the basis of
  a report that claimed that more than 1000 Russians benefitted from a doping
  cover-up between 2011 and 2015. The report published by Canadian law professor
  Richard McLaren on 9 December 2016.
• The McLaren report described how
  the sport was ‘hijacked’ by Russia to win at the London 2012 and Sochi 2014
  Olympics and other global competitions. It said that mass doping helped it to
  win several medals in these events.

• Walter Swinburn, one of the most
  renowned jockeys of his generation and rider of the Shergar, passed away on 12
  December 2016 following a prolonged illness. He was 55.
• He was famously known for winning
  the Epsom Derby horserace three times in his career as a jockey.
• He was nicknamed as the
  ‘Choirboy’.
• Swinburn was just 19 when he rode
  Shergar, a brilliant British-trained racehorse, to a memorable 10-length
  victory in the 1981 Derby at Epsom.

8 General Awareness & Computer Sectionals for IBPS Clerk VI mains – Click Here

5 Professional Knowledge Sectionals for IT Officers – SBI and IBPS – Click Here

6 Banking Awareness Sectionals – Click Here

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

Regards

Team ExamPundit