15th December 2015 - Important Current Affairs updates

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International Affairs

• Today (15th December) is International Tea Day.
• This day aims to draw global attention of governments and citizens to the impact of the global tea trade on workers, small growers and consumers.
• Note : The first International Tea Day was celebrated in New Delhi on 15 December 2005.
• The Japanese government is set to ease requirements for issuing multiple-entry visas to short-term Indian travellers effective from 11th January 2016.
• The move came after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Indian Premier Narendra Modi on Saturday agreed to promote people-to-people exchanges, the Japan Times reported.
• Under the new visa system, the maximum period of stay will be extended to 30 days from the current 15, with visas valid for five years, up from three years.

National Affairs

• Iron Man of India Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's  (31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950) Death anniversary today.
• Rajasthan has become the first state to submit smart city plans for three selected cities.

Science & Technology

• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is going to launch 6 Singapore satellites from Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) - C29 tomorrow (16th December 2015).

Awards & Honors

• The legendary 16 Grammys award winner Israeli-US violinist Itzhak Perlman has been awarded the 2016 Genesis prize for his accomplishments as a musician, teacher and advocate for people with disabilities.
• This prize is also known as  Jewish Nobel.
• Veteran music composer Bappi Lahiri and singer Kumar Sanu were presented lifetime achievement awards by the West Bengal government.
• The Bishesh Sangeet Samman was awarded to Dwijen Mukhyopadhyay, Ajoy Chakraborty and Sandhya Mukherjee.
• Shantanu Moitra was honoured with Maha Sangeet Samman along with Mohammad Aziz, Kumar Bose and Shibaji Chattopadhyay.
• Sriradha Bandyopadhyay, Dileep Kumar Bose, Fakir Alamgir and Nachiketa were given Special Sangeet Samman.
• An Indian artist (Andhra Pradesh) K.S.Kamesh’s painting 'Amalgamation' has been selected for the International Artist Grand Prize Competition-2016.

Business & Economy

• Development Credit Bank (DCB) has announced a cut in its base rate (minimum lending rate) by 15 basis points from 10.85 per cent to 10.7 per cent.
• The private sector bank also pared its erstwhile benchmark prime lending rate by 15 basis points from 18.10 per cent to 17.95 per cent.
• Oil and gas major Cairn India is going to launch the world's largest enhanced oil recovery programme in the Rajasthan desert using polymer injection technology for recovering more oil.

New Appointments

• Veteran Indian-origin politician Pravin Gordhan has been appointed South Africa's new Finance Minister by President Jacob Zuma.
• L Narasimha Reddy, a former Chief Justice of Patna High Court, is going to head the Judicial Committee which will look into the implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme.
• The Committee has been given a six-month deadline for submission of its recommendations.

Sports

• Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016
• Mahendra Singh Dhoni , Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Steven Smith and Faf du Plessis are going to play for Pune franchise.
• Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina , Brendon McCullum, All-rounder James Faulkner and Dwayne Bravo to play for Team Rajkot.
• Indian star golfer Anirban Lahiri has won the coveted Order of Merit crown of Asian Tour for year 2015.
• American professional tennis player Serena Williams was honored as SI's Sportsperson of the Year 2015.
• Note : She became the first female athlete honored on her own by the magazine in more than 30 years.

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