Current Affairs Update – 24 – 26 December, 2016

Hello and welcome to exampundit. Here are the important Current Affairs of 24, 25 and 26 December, 2016. These are important for the upcoming RBI Assistant Mains, IPPB PO Mains, NIACL AO Mains and RBI Assistant Mains 2016-17.

• All individuals in families whose
  total income is below Rs 5 lakh will be covered under a cashless health
  insurance scheme in Assam. Called ‘Atal Amrit Abhiyan’, the plan was launched
  on Sunday to coincide with the 92nd birth anniversary of former Prime Minister
  Atal Behari Vajpayee.
• Under the scheme, cashless cards
  will be provided to eligible individuals, which they can use to avail treatment
  for as many as 437 diseases under six categories, at most major hospitals
  across the country. The six categories listed under the plan are: cardiovascular
  diseases, cancer, kidney diseases, neo-natal diseases, neurological conditions
  and burns. 
• Assam’s health minister Himanta
  Biswa Sarma, who called it the biggest health plan, said it would cost the
  state exchequer Rs 200 crore a year, adding that the government was committed
  to make the amount available to ensure health for targeted people of the state.
  For the current fiscal, which ends in another three months, the outlay would be
  around Rs 50 crore, Sarma said.

• The Union Government on 25
  December 2016 launched the Aadhaar Payment App with an aim to simplify the
  digital transactions. This app will do away with the need of carrying plastic
  cards and the point of sale machines.
• It will also do away with the
  additional fee payments for service providing card companies such as Mastercard
  or Visa.

• There are two sides to this
  Aadhaar Payment app, one is the consumer app and the other is the merchant app.
• On the consumer front, the app is
  just like any mobile wallet which will be used to transfer money.
• The customer needs to enter his
  or her Aadhar number into the app, select the bank through which the
  transaction will take place and then the biometric scan will work as a password
  for the transaction to be authenticated.
• While, merchants will require two
  things to use this app, one is an Android smartphone and second is a
  fingerprint scanner.
• This app can also be used by a
  person to make payments without any phone.
• The app was developed by IDFC
  Bank along with UIDAI and National Payments Corporation of India.

• India’s largest private sector
  bank ICICI Bank on 23 December 2016 launched EazyPay mobile application for
  merchants as an all-in-one acceptance payment platform.
• The app will consolidate all the
  digital wallets, QR code, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Debit Card and
  Credit Card.
• With this, ICICI Bank becomes the
  first bank to roll out all-in-one payments platform in the country. 

• It is a sustainable payment mode
  in comparison with other digital applications.
• It’s open architecture makes it
  different from other digital platforms that are actually closed-loop prepaid
  instruments.
• Customers can make payments by
  using this app through any bank account using UPI, internet banking or by
  entering credit or debit card details on a link forwarded by the merchant.
• There is no issue of hitting the
  limit with this app as the money flows directly into the bank account of
  merchant.

• The Union Government on 24
  December 2016 launched ‘Smart Consumer’ mobile App to provide speedy redressal
  of consumer grievances.
• Besides, the government also
  launched an Online Consumer Mediation Centre (OCMC) and a helpline number 14404
  for redressal of consumer related grievances. These initiatives will benefit
  the consumers in the digital world.
• The government also launched a
  microsite based on the theme ‘Digitally Safe Consumer Campaign’ to help
  consumers for being vigilant and not falling prey to cyber frauds.
• All these launches were made on
  the occasion of National Consumer Day that is observed on 24 December every
  year. 

• The OCMC was launched in
  association with Bengaluru based National Law School of India University
  (NLSIU) to provide speedy redressal of consumer grievances.
• It will encourage consumers and
  companies to go for pre-litigation and will also provide them with an option to
  settle disputes harmoniously.

• The Government of Andhra Pradesh
  on 22 December 2016 allotted land for the construction of nuclear power plant
  at Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh.
• In this regard, the Government
  Order 1179 was issued giving advance possession of land under its control to
  the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL).
• The GO facilitates the NPCIL to
  take possession of 1473 acres of government land and pay for it as per the
  value fixed by the Revenue Department.

• The nuclear power plant will be
  set up at Kovvada in Ranasthalam block of the coastal district of Srikakulam in
  Andhra Pradesh.
• In 2009, the Department of Atomic
  Energy (DAE) of the Union Government gave an in-principle approval to the
  project.
• The ambitious project will be
  executed at an estimated cost of Rs 60000 crore.
• The 6600 MW project will be
  executed by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). Russia is
  expected to join the NPCIL in design and implementation of the project.

• Aiming to modernise and
  indigenise the Army’s infrastructure capabilities as part of the Union
  government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, the Army has selected IIT Gandhinagar
  (IIT GN) as its research hub and will sign an agreement with IITGN to collaborate
  in identifying problems faced by the former and find technical solutions.
• A Memorandum of Understanding
  (MoU) in this regard will be signed on December 27.
• Under this initiative, the IITGN
  will help in identifying problems faced by the Indian Army while operating in
  extreme weather conditions and border areas etc.
• The institute will work towards
  addressing such issues through research and development activities and
  projects.

• India successfully test fired its
  home-grown long range intercontinental surface-to-surface nuclear capable
  ballistic missile Agni-5. The missile was test-fired from the Abdul Kalam
  Wheeler Island off Odisha coast at 11:05 am on 26 December 2016.
• As per an official release, this
  was the fourth developmental and second test-trail of the long-range missile.
  Unlike other missiles of Agni series, the Agni-5 is the most advanced missile
  with new technologies. The technologies incorporated in this version of Agni
  includes navigation and guidance, warhead and engine.

• It is a three-stage propellant
  missile with nuclear warhead carrying capacity of more than one tonne.
• It is capable of striking a
  target more than 5000 kilometres.
• It is about 17 meters long and 2
  meter wide and has a launch weight of around 50 tonnes.
• Agni-5 has been developed by the
  Defence Research and Development Organisation under the Integrated Guided
  Missile Development Program.

• The Odisha Government recently
  decided to launch a new malaria control programme, DAMAN, in remote
  tribal-dominated areas.
• Odisha has 62 types of tribes
  including 13 primitive tribes that constitute 22.3 per cent of the state’s
  population. The population is under the high risk of malaria infection.
• The annual expenditure for the
  programme will be Rs 24 crore from the state budget. The drive aims at
  supplementing the routine malaria control activities and fill the gaps in case
  finding and treatment among the high risk population of inaccessible villages
  of high endemic areas.

• DAMAN stands for Durgama
  Anchalare Malaria Nirakaran (Malaria Control in Inaccessible Areas).
• It will be implemented in 8000
  villages of all 79 blocks of eight high malaria endemic southern districts.
  These districts are Koraput, Malkangiri, Kalahandi, Rayagada, Nabarangapur,
  Nuapada, Kandhamal and Gajapati.

• The Defence and Research
  Development Organization (DRDO) has successfully flight tested the Smart
  Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW), from an Indian Air Force aircraft.
• In a statement, the DRDO said,
  the flight test was conducted at the integrated test range in Chandipur,
  Odisha. It was flight tested on 24 December 2016.
• Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW)
• Developed by DRDO, SAAW is an
  indigenously designed and developed the 120-kilogram class smart weapon.
• This lightweight high precision-guided
  bomb is one of the world class weapons systems.
• The system is capable of engaging
  ground targets with high precision up to a range of 100 kilometres.

• The Union Government on 24
  December 2016 notified that the registration fees for Hindus and other minority
  community people as Indian citizens have been reduced from Rs 15000 to Rs 100.
• The new rules will be applicable
  to minority communities from three neighbouring countries Pakistan,
  Afghanistan, Bangladesh living in India on long term visa. These minority
  communities are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians.
• For minority community people
  from countries other than Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the fees will be
  Rs 10000 for registration in India and Rs 15000 if they are registered
  elsewhere.

• The Jnanpith Selection Board on
  23 December 2016 conferred the 52nd Jnanpith Award on eminent modern Bengali
  poet Shankha Ghosh.
• An announcement in this regard
  was made at a meeting of the board chaired by noted scholar, writer and critic
  Prof. Namwar Singh.
• With this announcement, the award
  returned to Bengal after a gap of 20 years. Before Ghosh, noted Bengali fiction
  writer and social activist Mahasweta Devi won the award in 1996.

• The People for the Ethical
  Treatment of Animals (PETA) recently declared that actor Sunny Leone is PETA’s
  Person of the Year.
• Leone will receive the award for
  her commitment for promoting the rescue of homeless dogs and cats, as well as
  her compassion for abused animals.
• Earlier in 2016, Leone featured
  in PETA’s ad campaign, which encouraged people to “be an angel” and
  adopt a homeless dog.
• In 2015, Kapil Sharma was chosen
  for the PETA’s Person of the Year award.

• Indian actor Anupam Kher’s 500th
  film ‘The Big Sick’ has been selected for world premier at the Sundance Film
  Festival, to be held in the United States from 19 January to 29 January 2017.
• The Big Sick, which is an
  upcoming American romantic comedy film, has been directed by Michael Showalter.
  Apart from Kher, it stars stand-up comedians Kumail Nanjiani and Ray Romano and
  American actresses Holly Hunter and Zoe Kazan.
• The screenplay has been written
  by Nanjiani himself along with his wife Emily V Gordon and it is based largely
  on their own relationship. The film traces the challenges faced by a
  Pakistani-born man (Nanjiani) and his American girlfriend (Kazan).

• The 31st National Consumer Day
  was celebrated on 21 December 2016 across India with the theme Alternate
  Consumer Disputes Redressal.
• To mark this occasion, the
  Department of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs Food and Public
  Distribution organised a special event at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi.
• The event was inaugurated and
  presided over by the Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public
  Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan.
• In the event, the participants
  discussed on the theme Alternative Dispute Resolution, which is already being
  practiced in resolving civil disputes.

• Good Governance Day is being
  observed across India on 25 December 2016. The day is observed to mark the
  birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who has turned
  92.
• To mark the occasion, a Good
  Governance campaign will be undertaken for 100 days. During this campaign,
  ministers and members of Parliament will travel across India and attend
  programmes that highlight the key initiatives of the government.
• Besides, six major initiatives
  will be launched by the  Ministry of
  Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. 

The initiatives include

• Immovable Property Return through
  Property Related Information System (PRISM)
• Recruitment Rules Formation,
  Amendment Monitoring System (RRFAMS)
• Announcement of E-Service Book
• Mandatory online filing of APAR
  by all All India Services and Central Group A Service Officers
• Launching of redesigned website
  of Department of Personnel and Training
• The endeavour of the government
  is to improve delivery systems, to promote digital transformation and take
  forward the connectivity revolution in all sectors.

• Broking firm Geofin Comtrade
  today said it has appointed Vinodkumar Balakrishnan as its Managing Director
  and Chief Executive Officer.
• Balakrishnan previously worked as
  HDFC Bank’s vice president and cluster head in its branch banking division.
• C P Krishnan, a whole-time member
  with Geofin, said that as MD and CEO, Balakrishnan “will help in broadly
  expanding our footprint across newer product domains and steer the organisation
  to greater growth trajectories“.
• The Kochi-based brokerage deals
  in commodity futures.

• Indian tennis player Yuki Bhambri
  on 25 December 2016 won the title of the $10000 ITF Hong Kong F4 Futures. It is
  the first singles trophy of the season. It was his 11th title on the ITF Pro
  Circuit.
• The third seed from India
  defeated the tournament’s number two Shintaro Imai of Japan 6-4, 7-5.
• Bhambri won 75% of his first
  service points and broke serve three times to lock victory in one hour and 54
  minutes.
• With the win, the world number
  534 takes away $1440 in prize money along with 18 ATP ranking points.
• On the other hand, Cheng-Peng
  Hsieh of Taipei and Pak Long Yeung from Hong Kong defeated Hong Kong’s Karan
  Rastogi and Jack Wong to win the doubles title 5-7, 6-3, 10-4.

• India on 23 December 2016 won the
  Asian Cricket Council Under-19s Asia Cup title. In the final played at R
  Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka, India defeated hosts Sri Lanka by 34
  runs.
• Opting first after winning the
  toss, India Under-19s team posted a competitive score of 273 runs for a loss of
  eight wickets in their 50 overs. In reply to it, the Sri Lankan side was bowled
  out for a score of 239 in 48.4 overs.
• Foundation of India’s total was
  based on the first five batsman, especially due to the score of 71 and 70 by
  Himanshu Rana and Shubham Gill respectively. Later, the fine bowling efforts by
  Indian spinners helped the Indian side in dismissing the Under-19 team of Sri
  Lanka and clinch the trophy.

• Pankaj Advani on 23 December 2016
  bagged the National title in 6-red Snooker, the shorter format of the game, in
  Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• Advani defeated Ishpreet Chadha
  in the final 7-4 to grab the title. Advani first won the title during the
  inaugural edition in Bangalore in 2010.
• With this win, Advani has emerged
  as the strongest contender to represent India in the Asian and World
  Championships in 6-red Snooker in 2017.
• The Indian player is the only
  player in the world to win all the titles, National, Continental and World, in
  6-red Snooker.

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