7th December 2015 - Important Current Affairs updates

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International Affairs

• Today (7th December) is International Civil Aviation Day.
• Theme for 2015-18 : Working Together to ensure No Country is Left Behind
• India and Pakistan holds National Security Advisor (NSA) level talks in Bangkok, Thailand.
• Both sides in the meeting discussed peace and security, terrorism, Jammu and Kashmir and other issues including tranquility along the Lince of Control. 
• India's NSA : Ajit Doval
• Pakistan's NSA : Aziz Ahmad Chaudhary
• External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will be visiting Islamabad tomorrow on a two-day visit.
• During the visit Ms. Swaraj will hold talks with Sartaj Aziz, Advisor to the Pakistan Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs.

National Affairs

• Today is Armed Forces Flag Day / Flag Day of India.
  
• This day is celebrated all over India every year on 7th of December in order to collect the funds from people all around the country for the wellbeing of the staff of the Indian Armed Forces.
• It was first celebrated in India on 7th of December in the year 1949.
• Since 1949, it has become a ritual in order to memorialize this day in the great honour of the soldiers, sailors and airmen of the India.
• Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has flagged off the inaugural service of the Goa-Mumbai double-decker air-conditioned Shatabdi train, which will run thrice a week between Goa's Madgaon railway station and the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) in Mumbai.

Business & Economy

• The State Bank of India (SBI) has launched ATM-on-wheel in flood-hit Chennai today.
• Canada has sent the first uranium consignment of 250 tonnes to India for its nuclear power reactors, over two years after the civil nuclear deal signed between the two countries came into force.
• In April, Cameco signed a uranium supply contract with India after the nuclear cooperation agreement between Canada and India came into force in September 2013.

New Appointments

• General Motors has appointed Kaher Kazem as president and managing director of its India operations, effective January 1.
• Kazem, who is currently chief operating officer (COO) of GM India, will be replacing Arvind Saxena who has decided to retire after leading the company since early 2014.

Science & Technology

• The 8th edition of Indo-Russia Bilateral Naval Exercise (INDRA NAVY- 15) Commences at Visakhapatanam today.
• This will be conducted in the Bay of Bengal from 07-12 December 15.
• INDRA NAVY is a bilateral maritime exercise between the Indian and Russian navies and epitomises the strategic relationship between the two countries.
• Initiated in 2003, the exercise has matured over the years with increasing scope, complexity of operations and level of participation.
• Aim : To increase interoperability between the two navies and develop common understanding of procedures for maritime security operations.
• During INDRA NAVY-15, the Indian Navy will be represented by INS Sahyadri an indigenous frigate, INS Ranvijay, a guided missile destroyer and INS Shakti a Fleet Support Ship. In addition, a submarine, INS Sindhuvir, the P8I Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft, Dornier Short Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft, Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer and other integral rotary wing helicopters are scheduled to participate in the bilateral exercise.
• The Russian Federation Navy (RFN) will be represented by VADM RYABUKHIN ANDREY Deputy Commander of the Pacific Fleet and ships from the Pacific Fleet, based at Vladivostok. RFN ships Varyag (cruiser), Bystry (destroyer), Alatau (rescue ocean going tug) and Boris Butoma (fleet tanker) are expected to arrive at Visakhapatnam on 06 December 15 to participate in INDRA NAVY-15.
• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is developing an indigenous position determination system, that will serve as the “replacement GPS” for people in remote areas of the country.
• Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) is a regional navigation satellite being developed by ISRO to provide accurate position information to users in the country, and will be under complete control of the Indian government. 
• The system is expected to provide position accuracy of better than 20m. IRNSS is needed because the foreign government-controlled global navigation satellite system does not guarantee service in all situations.
• The two types of services provided by IRNSS are,
• Standard Positioning Service (SPS) – This will be provided to all users
• Restricted Service (RS) – This is an encrypted service that will be provided to authorised users only.(Including the military)

Sports

• Australia has won the 2014-15 Men’s Hockey World League Final by defeating Belgium.
• Note :India stood at third place in this league. 
• Gold : Australia
• Silver : Belgium
• Bronze : India
• India win 4th Test against South Africa by 337 runs, clinches the Test series 3-0.
• R. Ashwin bags man of the series award.

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