DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 29 DEC 2017

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 29 DEC 2017

(DAILY NEWS INDIA)

SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN

1.      PRESIDENT DEDICATED 4 PROJECTS TO ANDHRA PRADESH

i. The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, dedicated to the people of Andhra Pradesh 4 projects of the State Government at a function held at Velagapudi, Andhra Pradesh.

ii. The Projects were Andhra Pradesh Fibregrid Project, Andhra Pradesh Surveillance Project, Drone Project; and Free Space Optical Communication system. The President focused on the 24/7 hyper-connected world and the online presence of the government.

2.      INDIA TO OVERTAKE UK, FRANCE TO BECOME 5TH-LARGEST ECONOMY IN 2018

i. India is set to leapfrog Britain and France in 2018 to become the world’s fifth-largest economy in dollar terms.

ii. The Centre for Economics and Business Research consultancy’s 2018 World Economic League Table painted an upbeat view of the global economy, boosted by cheap energy and technology prices. India is currently in 7th place in the top world economies with $2 trillion.

iii. Top 3 Economies of the world according to the World Economic Forum are-

The USA ($18 trillion),

China ($11 trillion),

Japan ($4.4 trillion).

3.      PRESIDENT INAUGURATED 100TH INDIAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE

i. President Ramnath Kovind inaugurated the 100^th  Annual Conference of the Indian Economic Association at Acharya Nagarjuna University in Guntur of Andhra Pradesh. The event will be held for 4 days.

ii. Indian Economic Association is a registered body of Indian economic professionals with an objective of providing a forum for debate and discussion of policy-oriented issues.

4.      SBI GETS BOARD APPROVAL TO RAISE RS 8,000 CR TO COMPLY BASEL III

i. According to the country's largest lender, SBI, its board has approved raising Rs 8,000 cr through various sources, including masala bonds, to meet Basel III capital norms.

ii. Masala bonds are rupee denominated specialised debt instruments that can be floated in overseas markets only to raise capital. Banks in India have to comply with the global capital norms under Basel III by March 2019, 3 months later than the internationally agreed time frame by January 2019.

5.      AGRICULTURE MINISTER LAUNCHES LIVESTOCK DISEASE FOREWARNING MOBILE APP

i. Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, Shri Radha Mohan Singh has launched Livestock Disease Forewarning –Mobile Application. The app is developed by ICAR-National Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Disease Informatics, Bengaluru.

ii. Apart from early warning, the app will also provide information about clinical samples for the diagnosis in case of the epidemic so that immediate action can be taken in case of the epidemic.

6.      PAYTM BECOMES INDIA'S FIRST PAYMENTS APP TO CROSS 100 MN DOWNLOADS ON PLAY STORE

i. India's largest mobile-first financial services platform, Paytm announced that its app has crossed the 100 million milestone on Google Play Store in the second week of December 2017.

ii. This makes Paytm the country's first payments app to cross the 100 million downloads mark.

7.      INDIA SIGNS USD 40 MILLION LOAN AGREEMENT WITH WORLD BANK FOR UP TOURISM

i. India signed a USD 40 Million Loan Agreement with the World Bank for 'Uttar Pradesh Pro-Poor Tourism Development Project'.

ii. The loan agreement was signed by Sameer Kumar Khare, Joint Secretary in Department of Economic Affairs and John Blomquist, Acting Country Director of the World Bank.

iii. The Implementing Entity Agreement was signed by Awanish Kumar Awasthi, Director General and Principal Secretary, Tourism on behalf of Uttar Pradesh Government, and John Blomquist. The total cost of the project is approximately USD 57.14 million, of which USD 40 million will be financed by the World Bank as IBRD Credit. The remaining amount will be funded out of Uttar Pradesh Budget.

iv. The Project will support the state government’s priority of re-structuring tourism benefiting poor residents and local entrepreneurs such as rickshaw drivers, local artisans and street vendors.

8.      INDIA SUCCESSFULLY TEST-FIRES AAD SUPERSONIC INTERCEPTOR MISSILE

i. India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed Advanced Air Defence supersonic interceptor missile, capable of destroying any incoming ballistic missile at low altitude, from a test range in Odisha.

ii. This was the 3rd supersonic interceptor test carried out this year in which an incoming ballistic missile target was successfully intercepted, within a 30km altitude of the earth’s atmosphere by an interceptor. The interceptor is a 7.5-meter long single stage solid rocket propelled guided missile equipped with a navigation system.

9.      ABHAY APPOINTED DIRECTOR GENERAL OF NARCOTICS CONTROL BUREAU

i. Senior IPS officer Abhay was appointed Director General of Narcotics Control Bureau. He is at present working in Central Reserve Police Force.

ii. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved his appointment to the post till November 18, 2019. The post was lying vacant after R R Bhatnagar took over as DG of CRPF in April 2017.

10.  K S CHITRA BAGS 'HARIVARASANAM' AWARD

i. Veteran singer K S Chitra has been selected for prestigious  'Harivarasanam' award 2017, instituted by the Kerala government.

ii. The award carrying a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, citation and plaque would be presented to the veteran playback singer at a function on January 14, 2018.

11.  ANISA WINS WOMEN’S 25M PISTOL WITH NEW NATIONAL RECORD

i. Haryana shooter Anisa Sayyed won the women’s 25m pistol gold with a new record at the ongoing 61st National Shooting Championship Competitions, in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

ii. Anisa shot a new finals national record score of 33 to prevail over the Maharashtra duo of Shital Shivaji Thorat and Rahi Sarnobat, who won the silver and bronze medals respectively at the National Games Shooting Range.

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS

Q1. IN WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING STATE THE PRESIDENT RAMNATH KOVIND INAUGURATED THE 100^TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE INDIAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION?

a)  Assam

b)  Andhra Pradesh

c)  Madhya Pradesh

d)  Uttar Pradesh

Q2. THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA, RAM NATH KOVIND HAS RECENTLY DEDICATED FOUR MAJOR PROJECTS TO THE PEOPLE OF _________?

a)  Andhra Pradesh

b)  Karnataka

c)  Punjab

d)  Maharashtra

Q3. UNION AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS’ WELFARE MINISTER HAS RECENTLY LAUNCHED LDF-MOBILE APP. LDF STANDS FOR?

a)  Live Disability Forewarning

b)  Leverage Disability Forewarning

c)  Livestock Disease Forewarning

d)  Live Disease Forewarning

Q4.  WHICH AMONG THE FOLLOWING VETERAN SINGER HAS BEEN SELECTED FOR PRESTIGIOUS 'HARIVARASANAM' AWARD 2017, INSTITUTED BY THE KERALA GOVERNMENT?

a)  K S Chitra

b)  K J Yesuda

c)  Kavitha Krishnamurthy

d)  M Jayachandran

Q5. ACCORDING TO THE COUNTRY'S LARGEST LENDER, SBI, ITS BOARD HAS APPROVED RAISING _____THROUGH VARIOUS SOURCES, INCLUDING MASALA BONDS, TO MEET BASEL III CAPITAL NORMS?

a)  Rs 8,500 cr

b)  Rs 7,800 cr

c)  Rs 7,500 cr

d)  Rs 8,000 cr

ANSWERS: 

1 - B    2 - A    3 - C    4 - A    5 - D