English Vocabulary from
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International Current Affairs
- The government of Burundi has declared Gitega as the country’s new political capital.
- Bujumbura, the previous capital of Burundi, will serve as the economic capital of the country.
- President Nkurunziza had made this promise of shifting the capital in 2007 which has been implemented now.
- About Burundi :
- President : Pierre Nkurunziza
- 1st Vice President : Gaston Sindimwo
- 2nd Vice President : Joseph Butore
- Official Languages : Kirundi, French, English
- Currency : Burundian franc
- India and China concluded the 7th edition of ‘Hand-in-Hand’ military exercise in China’s Chengdu city.
- Note : The ‘Hand-in-Hand’ military exercise did not take place last year due to prevailing tensions between both sides after 73-day military standoff at Doklam
National Current Affairs
- Kisan Diwas (National Farmers Day) is observed on 23rd December.
- This day is being observed to celebrate the birthday of Chaudhary Charan Singh, the fifth Prime Minister of India.
- National Consumers Day / National Consumers Right Day is observed on 24th December with the objective of providing better protection of consumer's interest.
- This day is being observed since the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was enacted on this day in 1986.
- Theme of National Consumers Day 2018 : “Timely Disposal of Consumer Complaints”
- Aiming to reduce the number of mob lynchings in the state, the Manipur Assembly today passed the 'Manipur Protection from Mob Violence Bill'.
- This bill recommends life imprisonment for those involved in mob violence if it results in the death of a victim.
- The “Asiatic Lion Conservation Project” has been launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change(MoEFCC).
- The main objective of this project is to work for the conservation of the world’s last ranging free Asiatic Lion population and the ecosystem associated with it.
- This project will be funded under the ‘Development of Wildlife Habitat (CSS-DWH)’ scheme which is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme
- The total budget of the “Asiatic Lion Conservation Project” for 3 years stands at about Rs. 9784 lakh.
- The cost will be borne in the 60:40 ratio by the Central and State government.
People in News
- A 20-year-old Pune woman Vedangi Kulkarni has become the fastest Asian to cycle the globe.
- She has completed the 29,000 km distance required to qualify as bicycling across the globe.
- An accountability court today handed ousted Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif 7 years in jail and a fine of $2.5 million in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case.
- Note : Sharif was in July 2017 disqualified by Supreme Court over Panama Papers scandal.
Banking, Business & Economic Affairs
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi today released a Rs. 100 commemorative coin in honour of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who passed away earlier this year.
- Features of this Coin :
- The commemorative coin features the Emblem of India on the front face.
- The words Satyamev Jayate are inscribed below the Lion Capital of Ashoka Pillar in Devanagri script.
- Also inscribed on the coin are the words 'Bharat' in Devanagri and 'India' in Roman script.
- The coin's value -- Rs 100 -- is also inscribed below the national emblem.
- The reverse side of the coin features a portrait of Atal Bihari Vajapyee and his name inscribed in both Devanagari and Roman.
- The years 1924 and 2018 are inscribed below Vajpayee's portrait to mark the year of his birth and death respectively.
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has shortlisted six IT majors to set up Public Credit Registry (PCR) for capturing details of borrowers and wilful defaulters.
- They are :
- TCS
- Wipro
- IBM India
- Capgemini Technology Services India
- Dun & Bradstreet Information Services India
- Mindtree.
Science & Technology
- India has successfully test-fired nuclear strategic ballistic missile Agni-IV from Dr Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast as a part of user trial by the Army.
- The missile has a 4,000-km strike range and is equipped with advanced avionics, 5th generation on board computer and distributed architecture.
- This is the 7th trial of Agni-IV missile.
- The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has created the coldest known place in the Universe inside NASA’s Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL) at the International Space Station.
- The researchers successfully produced clouds of "ultracold" atoms which can reach a fraction of a degree above absolute zero temperature.
- American multinational technology company Google has selected 87 news organisations from 23 countries for funding under its Global News Initiative (GNI).
- Of these 87 organisations selected, 10 are from India.
- The funding aims at helping the organisations in building video capabilities and experiment with new formats for video journalism.
- The news firms selected from India are : Factly, Asianet News Media and Entertainment, NDTV, India Today, Bharatiya Digital Party, Nyooz and Video Volunteers.
- To offer broadband internet services to users worldwide, China has launched its 1st communication satellite.
- The communication satellite was launched using a Long March 11 carrier rocket which took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in north-western China.
- It is CASIC’s (China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation) first satellite launch under China’s Hongyun project.
- The satellite aims to rival Google and other companies which have similar plans for providing Internet services worldwide.
Awards & Honors
- The Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee has been awarded the Skoch Chief Minister of the Year Award for the year 2017.
- The award was given to her for her contribution in the overall development of West Bengal as West Bengal emerged as the best-performing state in the field of Governance.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi today announced the institution of 'Sardar Patel Award for National Integration', which would be given for "outstanding efforts to further national integration".
- The Union Government has announced to confer the Prime Minister’s Shram Awards 2017 to 40 workers across country.
- These awardees have been selected among the workers of Departmental Undertakings & Central and State Government PSUs and Private Sector companies having 500 or more workers.
- This year, no one was awarded the prestigious Shram Ratna Award.
- Indian Railways bagged 17 awards at the 'National Energy Conservation Awards (NECA) 2018' held in New Delhi.
- Out of the five categories, Indian Railways participated in three categories- railway stations, hospitals and institutions.
- The awards are given by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency under the Ministry of Power to various institutions for adopting energy efficiency measures.
Deaths
- Veteran Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and former West Bengal minister Nirupam Sen (72) passed away.
- Sen had handled the industrial reconstruction, planning and power portfolios in West Bengal under the Buddhadeb Bhattacharya cabinet in 2001.
- Former Mumbai Mayor and Padma Shri awardee Nana Chudasama (85) passed away.
- He was honored with Padma Shri award in 2005 in recognition of his work in the social sector.
New Appointments
- US President Donald Trump has appointed Deputy Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan as the acting Defence Secretary.
- He will replace Jim Mattis on 1st January 2019.
Sports Current Affairs
- Formula One drivers have chosen Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton as the Best Driver of the 2018 season.
- Hamilton registered 11 victories alongside 11 pole positions and 17 podium finishes from 21 races.
- Belgium Football team came at number one position in the End-of-the-year FIFA global rankings.
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