18th December 2016 Important Daily Current Affairs

sponsored links

Dear Great Ambitionists, here are today's (18th December 2016) Important Current Affairs updates. Happy Reading :)

Daily Current Affairs of 18th December 2016

International Current Affairs

• Today (18th December) is International Migrants Day.
• On 18 December 1990, the UN General Assembly adopted the international convention on the protection of the rights of migrant workers and members of their families.
• Theme of 2015 : A Day without Migrants
• The UN Security Council today unanimously passed a draft resolution extending the peacekeeping mission in South Sudan by a year.
  
• It asked the peacekeepers to increase efforts to prevent and respond to sexual attacks there. 
• The council also proposed a 4,000-troop Regional Protection Force, in addition to the nearly 13,000 peacekeepers already there, to ensure the safety of civilians. 

National Current Affairs

• Today (18th December) is Minorities Rights Day.
  • This day is celebrated to protect rights of the minority communities as well as bringing the better understanding among religious minorities in India.
  • On this day in 1992 that the United nations adopted the declaration on the Rights of Persons belonging to National or Ethnic National or and Linguistic Minorities declaring that: “States shall protect the existence of the national or ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic identity of minorities within their respective territories and encourage conditions for the promotions of that identity”.
• Himachal Pradesh has achieved 100% Aadhaar saturation on the basis of the 2015 population, making it the sixth state to achieve the milestone. 
• Important Note : Delhi, Telangana, Haryana, Punjab and Union Territory Chandigarh have already achieved full coverage. 
• Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari has declared 1.65 lakh kilometre length of roads as National Highway and said the National Highways would be increased to 2 lakh kilometre. 
• Adding that government's port-led industrialisation strategy will have a major impact in the future, Gadkari claimed that the infrastructure sector can boost the country's GDP growth by 3%.

Business & Economic Affairs

• Amazon India has launched an online wallet called 'Amazon Pay Balance' which can only be used to make Amazon-based transactions. 
• Amazon Pay Balance can be credited with money using internet banking or credit or debit cards and used to make payments for purchases from the e-commerce portal. 
• Paytm has launched ‘Each one, teach one’ campaign to increase the digital inclusion in the country. 
• The campaign aims transforming user behavior and further accelerating the country’s ongoing shift from cash. 
• It calls upon consumers and merchants across India to teach others on how to use Paytm to pay and accept money.
• Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro today suspended the elimination of the country's largest denomination bill, after it led to cash shortages and nationwide unrest. 
• The measure would be postponed until early January.
• The move came after Venezuela's decision to demonetise the 100-bolivar note led to vast lines at banks, looting at shops, and anti-government protests.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) gave permission to HDFC to raise Rs. 3,000 crore by issuing ‘masala bonds’ after it exhausted a Rs. 5,000 crore limit to issue these bonds. 
• Note : Through the ‘masala bond’ route, an Indian company raises money overseas denominated in Indian rupees.
• In collaboration with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the State Bank of India (SBI) has launched State Bank MobiCash Mobile Wallet. 
• Initially, this wallet services will be available in Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana and Bihar and expanded pan-India by the end of December 2016. 
• Important Points to Note : 
• MobiCash will allow smartphone users to deposit cash through BSNL retail outlets and withdraw funds from their account. 
• SBI already has an application named SBI Buddy for smartphone users.

MOUs & Agreements

• State-owned power producer National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and aluminium producer National Aluminium Co. Ltd (NALCO) have signed MoU to establish a 2.4 giga watt (GW) Coal based power project at Gajmara, Odisha. 
• The MoU will facilitate setting up of a Joint Venture (JV) Company between NTPC and NALCO.
• It also seeks to set up one million tonne aluminium production facility in Odisha.

Science & Technology

• The world's first communications satellite was launched on this day (December 18) in the year 1958. 
• Named Project SCORE (Signal Communications by Orbiting Relay Equipment), the satellite broadcasted a Christmas message from then-US President Dwight Eisenhower via an on-board tape recorder. 

Awards & Honors

• SIES-Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswati National Eminence Award Winners List :
• Science & Technology Category : A S Kiran Kumar (ISRO chairman)
• Public Leadership Category : Devendra Fadnavis (Mahrashtra Chief Minister)
• Social Thinkers, Philosophers and Pravachana Karthas category : Kamala Murthy (Hari Katha exponent) 
• International Category : John Marr (English musician, songwriter and singer)
• Jodhpur has been listed among the top ten preferred destinations for travellers in 2017, according to 'TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Awards for Destinations on the Rise'. 
• The list is based on feedback from travellers and the booking interest for the destination. The list was topped by San Jose del Cabo in Mexico, followed by Kihei in Hawaii and Baku in Azerbaijan.

Sports Current Affairs

• Indian boxer Vijender Singh retained his WBO Super Middleweight Asia-Pacific title after knocking out Tanzania's Francis Cheka in the title fight in Delhi today. 
• Vijender has now extended his unbeaten run in professional boxing to eight bouts. 
• Note : The 31-year-old boxer knocked out Cheka in the third round to post his seventh knockout victory.
• Hosts Chhattisgarh emerged as the overall champions at the National School Games Championship 2016 that was held in Jagdalpur. 
• Maharashtra was ranked second in the championships, while West Bengal was placed third. 
• Important Note : Jagdalpur was the host of the 62nd edition of the National School Games Championship, which saw participation of teams from several states.
• India were crowned junior Hockey World champions after defeating Belgium 2-1 in the final in Lucknow today. 
• Important Note : This is India's second junior World Cup title after first winning it in 2001.

This is the end of today's Daily Current Affairs session friends. Good Day :)

Read more Daily Current Affairs updates from here

Download November 2016 Month's Current Affairs PDF File from here

sponsored links