11th December 2015 - Important Current Affairs updates

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International Affairs

• Today (11th December) is International Mountain Day.
• This day was designated by the United Nations General Assembly in 2003.
• This year, the celebration of this Day aims to highlight Mountain Products. Mountain peoples, who are largely family farmers, base their livelihoods on highly diversified activities.
• 2015 Theme : Promoting mountain products for better livelihoods
• Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is on Three day visit to India to attend  9th annual Indo-Japan summit.
• Mr. Abe will hold delegation level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow.
• In the 9th annual Indo-Japan summit talks, both leaders will review implementation of various decisions taken in course of last one year to enhance economic ties, particularly in the trade and investment sector.
• Seven years after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, India and Pakistan have agreed to resume structured dialogue.
• In a sign of increasing trustworthiness, US has updated Gas-turbine technology transfer policy with India. 
• As a result, US will be able to expand cooperation with India in production and design of
  
  sensitive jet engine components.
• Note : Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was informed about this decision by US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter during their meet in Pentagon yesterday.

National Affairs

• The National Green Tribunal today banned registration of new diesel vehicles in Delhi amid rising concerns over pollution in the city.
• It also told the government to not renew the registration of diesel vehicles more than 10 years old.
• Delhi govt has decided to bring all autorickshaws & taxis under one App facilitating commuters to book them through smartphones during a 15-day trial of odd-even scheme starting January 1.
• Note : The app named Poochho app will be launched on December 22nd.
• Government today announced that it will soon come out with a new crop insurance scheme in which farmers will have to pay lower premium and remove anomalies in claim settlement.
• Agriculture Minister : Radha Mohan Singh
• Union Health Minister, J. P. Nadda released the India Health Report : Nutrition 2015.
• The report has been prepared by Transform Nutrition Consortium that analyses the current situation with nutrition at the national and state level in India.
• The report shows that India still struggles to tackle malnutrition but the country has made major improvements in the last 10 years. 
• The country meets two of the eight targets set by World Health Organisation (WHO).

Books & Authors

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the book titled On My terms.
• This is the Autobiography of former Union Minister Sharad Pawar.
• This book was released on the occasion of Pawar's 75th birthday.

Business & Economy

• The government today reduced Minimum Export Price (MEP), of Onions‬ to 400 US dollars per tonne from 700 dollars a tonne.
• Important Points to Note :
• MEP is the rate below which no traders are allowed to export.
• The rise in MEP restrict exports and improves domestic supply.  
• India's industrial production grew an impressive 9.8% year-on-year in October compared to a contraction of 2.7% in October last year.
• According to data from the Central Statistics Office, industrial output growth for September this year has been revised upwards to 3.8%.

Science & Technology

• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will be launching Six Singaporean satellites weighing a total of around 625 kg on December 16 evening through its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket.
• Pakistan today successfully test-fired the medium-range Shaheen-III surface-to-surface ballistic missile.
• This missile can carry nuclear warheads up to 2,750km bringing many Indian cities within its range.

Awards & Honors

• Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe conferred with an honorary doctorate in International Relations by Jawaharlal Nehru University for Japan's role in India's economic development.

New Appointments

• Mauricio Macri has been sworn in as Argentina’s new president.
• He became first non-Peronist president in 14 years, ending more than a decade of populist government with a promise to revive the country’s struggling economy.

Sports

• BWF Super series Tournament 2015
• Saina Nehwal defeated reigning World Champion Carolina Marin.
• The Afghanistan cricket board (ACB) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with BCCI and Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority.
• According to the Memorandum of Understanding, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) will be able to utilise the facilities of the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex, which has successfully hosted a Ranji Trophy game between Uttar Pradesh and Baroda.
• The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced the groups and schedule of the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016, which will be staged across eight venues in India (Bengaluru, Chennai, Dharamsala, Kolkata, Mohali, Mumbai, Nagpur and New Delhi) from 8 March to 3 April.
• Team India is set to play Pakistan in Dharamsala on the 19th of March. 
• The mega event will kick off on March 11 and the final will be played on April 3 at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
• Note : The International Cricket Council (ICC) has partnered with OPPO, a leading mobile telephone device companies for 4 years from 2016 to 2020.

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