DAILY CURRENT
AFFAIRS: 15 DEC 2017
(DAILY NEWS INDIA)
SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN
1. 4TH INDIA-AUSTRALIA-JAPAN TRILATERAL DIALOGUE HELD IN NEW DELHI
i. Foreign
Secretary S. Jaishankar hosted the 4th India-Australia-Japan
Trilateral Dialogue with Secretary of Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
of Australia Ms. Frances Adamson and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan
Mr. Shinsuke J. Sugiyama, in New Delhi.
ii. The
three sides highlighted the growing convergence of their respective countries’
interests in the Indo-Pacific region and underscored their shared commitment to
peace, democracy, economic growth and a rules-based order in the region.
2. UNION CABINET CLEARS BILL CRIMINALISING INSTANT TRIPLE TALAQ
i. The Union
Cabinet cleared the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017,
or the Triple Talaq bill, which makes the practice a non-bailable offense. The
bill proposes a 3-year jail term for men who practice instant Triple Talaq.
ii. Under
the draft law, triple talaq in any form - spoken, in writing or by electronic
means such as email, SMS, and WhatsApp - would be banned or illegal.
3. WINTER SESSION OF PARLIAMENT BEGINS
i. The
winter session of Parliament begins with PM Narendra Modi urging all political
parties to extend co-operation for smooth conduct and pressing for a
"national consensus" on the issue of simultaneous elections in the
country.
ii. This
year's Winter Session of the Parliament will end on 5th January 2018 has only
14 proposed sittings. As per government data available, 14 sittings is the
lowest for any winter session since 1999.
4. 14TH INCLUSIVE FINANCE INDIA SUMMIT BEGINS IN NEW DELHI
i. The 14th
Inclusive Finance India Summit began in New Delhi to build consensus on
strategies and a unified vision for achieving universal financial inclusion in
India.
ii. The
summit offers a platform for a plethora of information to all the thought
leaders and industry veterans to debate and discuss the issues and challenges
involving the Financial Inclusion in the country.
5. 11TH WTO MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE HELD IN ARGENTINA
i. The 11th
World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference took place in Buenos Aires,
Argentina. The Conference was chaired by Minister Susana Malcorra of Argentina.
Indian Delegation was led by Minister of Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu.
ii. Key
Highlights of the conference-
1. Three
proponent groups announced new initiatives to advance talks at the WTO on the
issues of electronic commerce, investment facilitation, and micro, small and
medium-sized enterprises.
2. The
European Union contributed EUR 1 million (over CHF 1.2 million) to improve the
trading capacity of developing countries and to help them play a more active
role in trade negotiations.
3. The
United Kingdom government announced at the WTO’s Ministerial Conference with a
commitment of £16 million (around US$ 21.3 million) to 51 of the world’s
poorest countries.
4. For the
first time in the history of the WTO members and observers have endorsed a
collective initiative to increase the participation of women in trade.
6. WPI INFLATION AT 8-MONTH HIGH OF 3.93% IN NOVEMBER
i. Inflation
based on the Wholesale Price Index accelerated to an eight-month high of 3.93%
in November, from 3.59% in October. Data released showed that retail inflation
unexpectedly jumped to a 15-month high of 4.88% in November, and industrial
production slowed to 2.2% in October.
ii.
WPI-based inflation rose mainly on account of a sharp increase in fuel and food
prices, according to data released by the commerce ministry.
7. RBI IMPOSES RS 3 CR PENALTY ON INDUSIND BANK
i. The
Reserve Bank of India has imposed Rs 3 cr penalty on IndusInd Bank for
breaching rules on income classification norms.
ii. As per
the RBI Statement, the penalty was imposed after the regulator observed
violation of various regulations issued by the RBI on non-performing loans and
extension of non-fund based limits.
8. SBI STARTS STATE BANK REWARDZ SCHEME
i. The State
Bank of India has introduced a loyalty program for its valued customers. This
program is called as State Bank Rewardz, the program gives the customers
several opportunities to earn reward points and earn many times faster at Max
Get More partner outlets.
ii. State
Bank Rewardz is the enterprise-wide loyalty program for State Bank customers
that awards them with reward points for various transactions across many
banking services.
9. INDIAN DIASPORA IS LARGEST IN THE WORLD: WORLD MIGRATION REPORT
2018
i. The
Indian diaspora is the largest in the world, with over 15 million migrants from
India living abroad, according to the World Migration Report 2018 published by
the International Organisation for Migration, the United Nations migration
agency. World's 3 largest diasporas- India, Mexico and Russia.
ii. India
also receives the highest amount in remittances ($68.91 billion). The largest
migration corridor is from India to UAE, where 3.5 million Indians were
residing in 2015.
iii. The
United States remained the top destination for migrants in the world in 2015,
with 46.6 million migrants moving to the US in that year.
10. RBI IMPOSES RESTRICTIONS ON CORPORATION BANK AS ITS BAD LOANS
CROSSES 10%
i. The
Reserve Bank of India has imposed certain restrictions on Corporation Bank on
carrying out banking activities as its share of bad loans rose sharply. The RBI
has triggered prompt corrective action against it in view of high
non-performing loans and requirement to raise capital.
ii. This
makes Corporation Bank eighth bank to face restriction in a span of 10 months.
Corporation Bank's net non-performing loans cross 10% and it reported losses of
Rs 1035 cr in the second quarter ending 2017.
11. MICHAEL JORDAN, WORLD'S HIGHEST-PAID ATHLETE OF ALL TIME
i. In the
latest list released by Forbes, Michael Jordan has been named as the
highest-paid athletes of all time. The 54-year-old has a whopping $1.7 billion
in the bank.
ii. Former
world number one golfer Tiger Woods is standing at the second spot. Late
America golfer Arnold Palmer is at No.3 with incredible $1.4 billion to his
name.
12. GOOGLE OPENS 1ST MACHINE LEARNING RESEARCH LAB IN ASIA WITH
‘GOOGLE AI CHINA CENTER’
i. In an
apparent move to rebuild its presence in China, Google announced that it will
open a research lab focused on Artificial Intelligence in Beijing, China. It
will be its first such center in Asia.
ii. The
"Google AI China Centre" will join the other AI research groups that
the company has in other parts of the world, including in New York, Toronto,
London, and Zurich. Focused on basic AI research, the lab will consist of a
team of AI researchers in Beijing, supported by the company's engineering
teams.
13. LUCKNOW'S JITESH SINGH DEO NAMED MR. INDIA 2017
i. Jitesh
Singh Deo from Lucknow was declared the winner of the 2017 Mr. India pageant
which was held in Mumbai. Indian footballer Prathamesh Maulingkar won the title
of Mr. India Supranational and will compete at Mr. Supranational 2018.
ii. Abhi
Khajuria was declared the first-runner. Actress Kangana Ranaut felicitated the
winners. Jitesh competed with 15 other contestants to grab the coveted title.
14. SACHIN SIWACH NAMED ABC’S BEST YOUTH BOXER
i. World
youth champion Sachin Siwach was named the Asian Boxing Confederation’s best youth
boxer of the year 2017 after winning an online poll conducted by the
continental body. Siwach polled 36.2 % votes in this category.
ii. Siwach
claimed the Asian youth championships silver this year besides a gold at the
Youth Commonwealth Games. India also fetched the Best Asian International
Technical Official award with Lenny D’Gama winning the online poll. D’Gama
polled 45.5%.
OBJECTIVE
QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS
Q1. THE 4TH INDIA-AUSTRALIA-JAPAN TRILATERAL DIALOGUE WAS HOSTED
BY WHICH INDIAN SECRETARY IN NEW DELHI?
a) Rajiv Gauba
b) Pradeep Kumar Sinha
c) Basant Pratap Singh
d) Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
Q2. JITESH SINGH DEO HAS
WON THE TITLE OF PETER ENGLAND MR INDIA 2017. HE HAILS FROM WHICH STATE?
a) Rajasthan
b) Odisha
c) Uttar Pradesh
d) Maharashtra
Q3. WHICH BOXER WAS NAMED AS YOUTH BOXER OF YEAR BY ASIAN BOXING
CONFEDERATION?
a) Gaurav Bidhuri
b) Sachin Siwach
c) Srikanth Tiwari
d) Vijender Singh
Q4. THE ELEVENTH WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
TOOK PLACE IN?
a) Argentina
b) Bulgaria
c) Denmark
d) Switzerland
Q5. ON WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING BANK THE RESERVE BANK OF INDIA HAS
IMPOSED CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS ON CARRYING
OUT BANKING ACTIVITIES AS ITS SHARE OF BAD LOANS ROSE SHARPLY?
a) Karnataka Bank
b) Nainital Bank
c) Corporation Bank
d) Federation Bank
ANSWERS:
1 - D 2 - C 3
- B 4 - A 5 - C
