DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 7 DEC 2017

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 7 DEC 2017
(DAILY NEWS INDIA)
SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN

1.      FIFTH BI-MONTHLY MONETARY POLICY STATEMENT RELEASED BY RBI
i. On the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation at its meeting, the Monetary Policy Committee decided to keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility unchanged at 6.0 percent.
ii. Consequently, the Reverse Repo Rate under the LAF remains at 5.75 percent, and the Marginal Standing Facility rate and the Bank Rate at 6.25 percent.
iii. The projection of real GVA growth for 2017-18 of the October resolution at 6.7% has been retained, with risks evenly balanced.


2.      VICE PRESIDENT INAUGURATED 12TH ANNUAL CONVENTION
i. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the 12th Annual convention of central information commission at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi.
ii. The Vice President stressed on maintaining transparency and accountability in public life. As per the Minister of State in PMO Dr. Jitender Singh, the government has filled all vacant posts in the commission.

3.      10TH JAIPUR INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
i. The 10th Jaipur International Film Festival is all set to present International Cinema to film buffs. The 2nd and the last list of films selected for the Festival was released that includes a total of 48 films from 13 countries.
ii. List of Feature films- Angrezi Mein Kehte Hein directed by Harish Vyas from India/Hindi, Andarkahini (Self-Exile) directed by Arnab Middya from India/Bengali, Half Widow directed by Danish Renzu from India/ Kashmiri and Urdu, Inkblot directed by Vedanti Dani from India/English, Donaire Y Esplendor (Grace & Splendor) directed by Arturo Montenegro from Panama/ Spanish and POV-Point of view directed by Prabhakar Jha from India/Hindi.
iii. The films for screening were selected by a 51 member-international committee of selectors from India, United States, Canada, France, Germany and Bangladesh.

4.      6TH INTERNATIONAL TOURISM MART TO BEGIN IN GUWAHATI
i. The 6th International Tourism Mart-2017 begins in Guwahati, Assam. The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, in association with the North Eastern States is organizing this Mart from 5-7 December 2017.
ii. Shri Jagdish Mukhi, Governor of Assam inaugurated the 6th International Tourism Mart (ITM) -2017". It will put the spotlight on India’s “Act East Policy”, blossoming ties with ASEAN and the larger East Asia region, home to the world’s rapidly growing economies and India’s emerging tourism markets.
5.      INTERNATIONAL SOLAR ALLIANCE IS NOW A LEGAL ENTITY
i. In terms of its Framework Agreement, with ratification by Guinea as the 15th country in Nov 2017, the International Solar Alliance has now become a treaty-based international intergovernmental organization. The International Solar Alliance is India's global initiative.
ii. The ISA was jointly launched by the PM Narendra Modi and the president of France in November 2015 in Paris, on the sidelines of COP-21, the UN climate conference. Till date, 46 countries have signed and 19 countries have ratified the framework agreement of the ISA.

6.      GOVERNMENT UNVEILS MID-TERM REVIEW OF FOREIGN TRADE POLICY 2015-20
i. Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu let out more incentives while unveiling the mid-term review of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 with a view to boosting exports.
ii. The minister stated that the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme incentive rate will be raised by 2 percent across the board for labor-intensive/MSME sectors.

7.      TIME READERS VOTE SAUDI CROWN PRINCE PERSON OF THE YEAR
i. Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been voted the Time magazine readers’ Person of the Year, despite spearheading the continued bombardment of Yemen, leading to the starvation of its citizens.
ii. The award goes to those who “for better or worse” influenced the year. The 32-year-old scored 24 percent of the vote, with the #MeToo movement against sexual assault and harassment. Bin Salman overtook Hillary Clinton, Vladimir Putin and even the Pope to be crowned the people’s choice, winning far more votes than the three combined.

8.      AKASH MISSILE SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED
i. The Surface to Air Missile AKASH with indigenous radio frequency seeker against target Banshee has been successfully launched from the Launch Complex-III at ITR Chandipur, Odisha.
ii. The Radars, telemetry and electro-optical systems along the coast have tracked and monitored all the health parameters of the missile. This missile is being inducted into Army as Short Range Surface to Air Missile.

9.      SYRIAN BOY WINS CHILDREN'S PEACE PRIZE
i. Sixteen-year-old Mohamad Al Jounde from Syria was awarded the International Children's Peace Prize for his efforts to ensure the rights of Syrian refugee children.
ii. Al Jounde, a refugee of the Syrian civil war, set up a school together with his family in a Lebanese refugee camp that currently provides 200 children with education. Al Jounde received the prize from Malala Yousafzai, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for her work for children's rights.

10.  RUSSIA BANNED FROM 2018 WINTER OLYMPICS
i. Russia was banned from the 2018 Winter Games by the International Olympic Committee over its state-orchestrated doping programme, but clean Russian athletes will be allowed to compete under an Olympic flag.
ii. The sanction was the toughest ever leveled by the IOC for drug cheating and came just 65 days ahead of the Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

11.  YUVRAJ SINGH LAUNCHES UNICEF-ICC'S ADOLESCENT CAMPAIGN
i. Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh will be promoting a UNICEF sports initiative for youngsters in South Asia, which will also have the ICC's backing. Yuvraj launched the "Power of Sports to Shape the Future of Adolescents" campaign in South Asia.
ii. Yuvraj was joined by under-19 players from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka who will compete in the ICC under-19 World Cup in New Zealand in January 2018.

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS
Q1. WHAT IS THE CURRENT REPO RATE IN THE 5TH BI-MONTHLY MONETARY POLICY REVIEW OF RBI FOR 2017-18?
a)  5.75%
b)  6.25%
c)  6.0%
d)  6.7%
Q2. MOHAMAD AL JOUNDE HAS BEEN HONOURED WITH THE INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S PEACE PRIZE 2017. HE HAILS FROM WHICH COUNTRY?
a)  Syria
b)  United Arab Emirates
c)  Philippines
d)  Liberia
Q3. WHICH INDIAN CRICKETER HAS LAUNCHED UNICEF-ICC’S ADOLESCENT CAMPAIGN “POWER OF SPORTS TO SHAPE THE FUTURE OF ADOLESCENTS”?
a)  Virat Kohli
b)  Yuvraj Singh
c)  Sachin Tendulkar
d)  M S Dhoni
Q4.  WHICH STATE IS HOSTING THE 6TH INTERNATIONAL TOURISM MART 2017?
a)  Nagaland
b)  Tripura
c)  Punjab
d)  Assam

ANSWERS: 
1 - C    2 - A    3 - B    4 - D