31st December 2014 - Important Current Affairs updates

National Affairs

• First 1,000 MW unit of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project begins commercial power generation, after getting approval from the  following permission by NPCIL (Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd).
• President Pranab Mukherjee gives nod to the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) bill that seeks to scrap the collegium system of appointing judges to higher judiciary.
• The Uttar Pradesh government has declared the Amir Khan starrer film 'PK' tax free in the state.

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30th December 2014 - Important Current Affairs updates

International Affairs

• Tamu Lhochhar, the biggest cultural festival of the Mahayana sect of Buddhism is being observed by the Gurungs at different places in Nepal with gaiety and fervor.
• This festival is observed as the New Year festival by the people of the Tamang, Sherpa, Gurung, Magar, Thakali, Jirel, Nesyangwa, Bhote, Dura and Lepcha communities, among others.

National Affairs

• Father of India's space programme, Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai's (12 August 1919 – 30 December 1971) Death Anniversary today.
• Government has sanctioned over 568 crore rupees for the next three years to provide Soil Health Cards to 14 crore, 50 lakh farmers.

Sports

• Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh‬ Dhoni has decided to retire from Test cricket, citing strain of playing all formats.
• The 33-year-old, who made his debut in 2005 and was captain for 60 of his 90 Tests, quit after India drew the third Test against Australia today.
• In 60 matches as captain, Dhoni had a decent 27 wins, 18 losses and 15 draws to show.
• In the 90 Tests that he was part of, Dhoni scored 4876 runs at an average of 38.09 with six hundreds and 33 50s to his credit.
• The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) called Dhoni "one of India's greatest Test captains".
• Virat Kohli will be the captain of the Indian Team for the Fourth and Final Test against Australia to be played in Sydney from the 6th of January 2015

Deaths

• Eminent journalist B G Verghese, a Ramon Magsaysay award winner and former editor of leading dailies Hindustan Times and Indian Express, died today.
• His books include Waters of hope, India’s North East, Fourth Estate (2005) and his autobiography First Draft: Witness to Making of Modern India.

New Appointments

• Uttarakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi has been transferred and appointed as Governor of Mizoram for the remainder of his term.
• Meghalaya Governor Krishan Kant Paul has been transferred and appointed as Governor of Uttarakhand for the remainder of his term.

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29th December 2014 - Important Current Affairs updates

National Affairs

• The Union Cabinet today approved amendment to the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, stating that the owners of land acquired via laws exempted under the Act will now be eligible for a similar compensation.
• The government today granted its approval to the Airports Authority of India (AAI)'s proposal to lease some of its land spread over four airports, including the one at Porbandar in Gujarat, to the Navy and the Coast Guard for various projects.
• The leasing of the requisite land at proposed airports will facilitate the coast guard/navy to establish various facilities for better surveillance of coast line.
• The Government of India today held a day-long National Workshop on 'Make in India' to formulate short term (1 year) and medium term (3-year) sectoral action plans in consultation with Indian industry and improve the ease of doing business in consultation with Chief Secretaries of States.
• Inaugurated by Union Finance Minister - Arun Jaitley
• Taking cue from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pitch for SMART Policing, the Home Ministry has decided to establish one such model police station in each state and has asked the state governments to submit their proposal by January 31, 2015.
• The Prime Minister had said at a meeting of the country’s top police brass in Guwahati last month that he wanted a force which takes care of the country’s law and order in an efficient and SMART manner. 
• SMART Policing
• S for Strict but Sensitive
• M for Modern and Mobile
• A for Alert and Accountable
• R for Reliable and Responsive and
• T for Techno-savvy and Trained
• Kerala‬ Chief Minister ‎Oommen Chandy‬ today laid the foundation stone for a Global Artists Village at a function held at Sreekantapuram in Kannur district.
• The village, promoted by the Kerala Lalitha Kala Akademi, is touted as the first of its kind in the country to be established with state support.
• The government has sanctioned 75 lakh rupees for the project. 
• The Global Artists Village will have studios and residential complexes, where artists from across the globe can stay and work together.
• Lieutenant Governor ‎Najeeb Jung‬ today allocated additional seven crore rupees to ‎Delhi‬ Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) to shelter the homeless in the bone-chilling cold in the city.
• This is in addition to the five crore rupees allocated to DUSIB recently. 
• Mr Jung has made an exception and instructed DUSIB to set up tents under flyovers and bridges till first week of February 2015.
• One killed and three injured in an explosion at Church Street in Bengaluru.
• To strengthen the State intelligence division, the Karnataka Government will create a separate intelligence information cadre that will coordinate with the intelligence inputs from various other agencies, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said after this incident.

Bilateral Issues

• Eighth Meeting of the India – Republic of Korea Joint Commission in Seoul
• In boost to their strategic ties, India and South Korea today decided to enhance cooperation in sectors like shipbuilding, electronics, defence production, infrastructure and energy besides outlining mutual interest in areas of nuclear energy and cyber security.
• Indian External Affairs Minister - Sushma Swaraj
• South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs - Yun Byung-se 

Business & Economy

• Delhi has become the First City to achieve 100 per cent enrolment under Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY).
• Bank accounts of more than 31.63 lakh families have been opened under the scheme in the national capital. 
• Employee unions of ING Vysya Bank today demanded safeguarding of their interests post-merger with Uday Kotak-led Kotak Mahindra Bank and threatened to go on strike on January 7 — the day on which the Bengaluru-headquartered lender will seek shareholders’ nod to approve the Rs 15,000-crore merger deal.

People in News

• Mumbai attack key planner Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi is likely to be released from jail with Islamabad High Court (IHC) today suspending the notification detaining him under a public security order after he was granted bail by a court in the 26/11 case.
• IIT Delhi Director Raghunath K S Shevgaonkar has resigned with more than two years of his tenure left amid a controversy over the circumstances under which he quit including alleged pressure put on him by the Human Resources Development(HRD) Ministry.

Science & Technology 

• The Yahoo Directory, the core part of how Yahoo itself began in 1994, officially closed today, five days ahead of when Yahoo had said the end would come.

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28th December 2014 - Important Current Affairs updates

International Affairs

• The NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) formally ended its war in Afghanistan today, holding a low-key ceremony in Kabul after 13 years of conflict that have left the country in the grip of worsening insurgent violence.
• US General ‎John Campbell‬, who is the commander of US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) led the ceremony
• Taliban in Pakistan has accused its Army of using them for blood game and proxy war in Jammu & Kashmir in the name of so-called freedom and also in Afghanistan.
• The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in a new video, listed the atrocities committed by the Pakistani forces including killing of millions & raping of women during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.

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27th December 2014 - Important Current Affairs updates

International Affairs

• India has announced one million US dollar contribution to United Nation (UN) fund and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) for strengthening early warning systems for natural disasters.
• The decision comes ten years after a massive Tsunami triggered by an earthquake smashed the coastline of around 14 nations.

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26th December 2014 - Important Current Affairs updates

New Appointments

• Senior BJP leader Raghubar Das will be sworn in as the 10th chief minister of Jharkhand on Sunday.
• He will be the first non-tribal CM of the state, 14 years after it was carved out of Bihar.

People in News

• World's biggest software maker Microsoft's chief executive officer Satya Nadella met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today at Delhi.
• He is the third major tech executive to meet PM Modi, after Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg.

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25th December 2014 - Important Current Affairs updates

International Affairs

• Christmas being celebrated across the globe with traditional fervour and gaiety.
• Amidst a swell of controversy, backlash, confusion and threats, Sony Pictures broadly released "The Interview" online in an unprecedented counterstroke against the hackers who spoiled the Christmas opening of the comedy depicting the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

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24th December 2014 - Important Current Affairs updates

International Affairs

• Japan's Parliament today re-elected Shinzo Abe as Prime Minister.
• The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has decided to Ease decades-old Ban on Blood Donations by Gay Men
• The FDA today announced that it will recommend lifting the lifetime ban early next year, replacing it with a policy barring donations from men who have had sex with another man in the previous 12 months.
• The change would overturn a 31-year-old policy that many medical groups and gay activists say is no longer justified, given advances in HIV testing.

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23rd December 2014 - Important Current Affairs updates

International Affairs

• Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi has extended his greetings and felicitations to the Emperor and people of Japan on the eve of the National Day of Japan (Emperor Akihito’s Birthday) today. 

Recent Committees in News

• The committee headed by the well-known economist Vijay Kelkar, appointed to study the issue of balanced development of various regions of Maharashtra, has recommended autonomous status for Vidarbha, noting that the region's population feels neglected.
• It has also recommended shifting of the state secretariat (Mantralaya) to Nagpur, the state's second capital, for the month of December every year.
• The Government today constituted a committee to look into various grievances relating to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
• The committee comprises of Justice G. P. Mathur (Retired Judge of Supreme Court of India) as Chairman and J. P. Aggarwal, Joint Secretary (Judicial) in the Ministry of Home Affairs as Member Secretary.

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22nd December 2014 - Important Current Affairs updates

International Affairs

• Anti-Islamist politician Beji Caid Essebsi won Tunisia`s presidential election with 55.68 percent of the vote, beating incumbent Moncef Marzouki.
• He becomes the first president freely elected by Tunisians since independence from France in 1956.
• China is formulating a new national security law to safeguard security in the backdrop of a spurt in terrorist attacks in the Muslim-majority Xinjiang province.
• A draft legislation which aims to be a “comprehensive and fundamental piece of legislation” was tabled today in the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) for its first reading.

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21st December 2014 - Important Current Affairs updates

International Affairs

• The United States has dismissed a call by North Korea for a joint investigation into the hacking of Sony Pictures and wants China to help block cyber attacks from Pyongyang.
• Washington blames North Korea for a breach of cyber security at Sony Pictures that led to the release of embarrassing emails and prompted executives to halt the release of “The Interview.” 
• The movie, which was due to open on Christmas Day, is a madcap romp about a CIA plot to kill leader Kim Jong Un, infuriating the secretive state.
• Pakistan authorities have planned counseling sessions on post traumatic stress management for hundreds of children who survived the school massacre, Peshawar, that killed 148 people, mostly students, a report said today.

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20th December 2014 - Important Current Affairs updates

National Affairs

• Delhi court imposes cost of 10,000 rupees on Union Minister Nitin Gadkari for non-compliance in a defamation case filed by him against Arvind Kejriwal.
• A disciplinary as well as an administrative action of "compulsory wait" has been taken against diplomat Devyani Khobragade, who had hit the headlines last year after she was arrested in the US in a visa fraud case, even as the foreign service officer remained defiant that she has not done anything wrong.
• Jammu and Kashmir witnessed around 66 percent polling, highest in 25 years.

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19th December 2014 - Important Current Affairs updates

International Affairs

• Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid arrived in India on a six-day official visit, during which he will hold talks with Indian leadership.
• Hamid's visit comes in the backdrop of India making efforts to go ahead with Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) with Bangladesh.
• It is the first visit by a ceremonial head of Bangladesh to India and is the second head of state to stay at renovated guest wing of the Rashtrapati Bhawan since the King of Bhutan in January 2013.

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18th December 2014 - Important Current Affairs updates

International Affairs

• The United States and Cuba end five decades of Cold War hostility, agreeing to revive diplomatic ties in a breakthrough that would also ease a crippling US trade embargo.
• In the wake of a prisoner exchange, President Barack Obama said Washington was ready for a 'new chapter' in relations with communist Cuba and would re-establish its embassy in Havana, shuttered since 1961.
• The European Parliament overwhelmingly backed the recognition of a Palestinian state "in principle", following a series of votes on the issue in EU nations that have enraged Israel.

National Affairs

• The Union Cabinet approved Constitutional Amendment Bill for Goods & Services Tax (GST), paving the way for introduction of the Bill in the ongoing session of Parliament.
• The Government intends to introduce GST from April 1, 2016, which will set the ball rolling for the legislative exercise for introduction of new indirect tax reforms.
• The Lok Sabha has passed the Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill, 2014 by voice vote.
• The bill intends to regularise e-rickshaws and provide driving licences for battery-operated vehicles to ply in the national capital and other places of the country.
• Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said, now an e-rickshaw having capacity of 2000 watt will be allowed to ply on city roads. He said, a loan at a rate of 4 per cent interest will be given to the driver for purchasing the e- rickshaw so that he or she can become the owner. The Minister dismissed the allegations of some opposition members that the bill has been brought in view of the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections.
• Delhi Metro rolls out first fully advertisement-wrapped train on Yellow Line from Jahangirpuri to HUDA City Centre 
• The metro train wrap, rolled out by e-commerce firm 'IndiaMART', featured Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan as its brand ambassador.

People in News

• India's famous 'Everest twins' Nungshi and Tashi scaled Mt Vinson, the highest peak of Antarctica, to become world's first twins to achieve this feat .
• With this feat, they also became the world's first twins and the youngest Indians to enter the coveted 'the seven summit club'.
• A Pakistan Court granted bail to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, one of the main accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
• Lakhvi is among the seven persons charged with planning and helping carry out the attacks in which more than 160 people were killed.
• India terms Lakhvi's bail as very unfortunate, calls upon Islamabad to reverse the decision.

Important Govt Schemes

• Delhi Police has launched a scheme, Operation Milap which aims at uniting missing children with their parents.
• The scheme has already restored two children staying in a Children Home with their respective families in Delhi and Rajasthan.
• The drive has been launched by the Anti Human Trafficking Unit of the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police during which teams will check all the Children Homes in the national capital.

Business & Economy

• India has signed a 625 million euro loan agreement with Germany for financial assistance to Green Energy Corridors (GEC) project under Indo-German bilateral development cooperation.

Science & Technology

• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully conducted an experimental test-flight of GSLV MK III carrying a crew module, to be used in future manned space missions.
• GSLV MK III, which is the heaviest launch vehicle Isro has ever made, lifted off from the second launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota at 9.30am.

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17th December 2014 - Important Current Affairs updates

International Affairs

• PM Narendra Modi wishes Bhutan on their National Day (17th December)
• International Day To End Violence against Sex Workers observed across the globe today.
• This day was originally conceived as a memorial and vigil for the victims of the Green River Killer in Seattle Washington, United States (US), it has evolved into an annual international event. 

New Appointments

• Indian-American Amit Priyavadan Mehta confirmed as a Federal judge by the US Senate

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16th December 2014 - Important Current Affairs updates

International Affairs

• A group of heavily-armed Arabic speaking Taliban suicide attackers stormed an army-run school in the city of Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan killing at least 126 people including school children and teachers and taken hundreds more hostage.
• A 17-hour-long hostage drama in which a lone heavily-armed man of Iranian-origin held 17 people hostage at a cafe at Central Sydney ended latenight yesterday with the police storming it, resulting in three deaths but two Indians who were among the captives escaped safely.
• Japan ordered the culling of about 4,000 chickens today following an outbreak of avian influenza at one of the country’s poultry farms.

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15th December 2014 - Important Current Affairs updates

International Affairs

• Islamic State Gunman takes several people hostage in a cafe at Sydney, Australia.
• The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and its coalition partner, Komeito, won Japan's parliamentary election on Sunday.
• The governing parties took 325 seats, or more than a two-thirds majority in the 475-seat Lower House, allowing the ruling bloc to set the agenda.

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14th December 2014 - Important Current Affairs updates

International Affairs

• United Nations members have reached an agreement on how countries should tackle climate change.
• Delegates have approved a framework for setting national pledges to be submitted to a summit next year.
• Differences over the draft text caused the talks in Lima, Peru, to overrun by two days.
• India has strongly advocated a “balanced approach” in the draft text of a new binding pact to cut global carbon emissions to make sure that polluting countries pay and not the poorest nations, as crucial U.N. climate talks remained deadlocked.

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13th December 2014 - Important Current Affairs updates

New Appointments

• Dineshwar Sharma appointed as New Chief of Intelligence Bureau
• He will take charge on 1st January 2015 succeeding Syed Asif Ibrahim.

People in News

• Bengaluru-based engineer Mehdi Masroor Biswas, who was named by UK-based Channel 4 as the man behind terror group Islamic State's (IS) most influential Twitter handle "@ShamiWitness", was arrested from his flat in Bengaluru and slapped with charges of "waging war" and unlawful activities.
• He had been anonymously operating the account as "Mehdi".

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12th December 2014 - Important Current Affairs updates

Books & Authors

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today launched "Born Again on the Mountain", a book by Ms Arunima Sinha, the first female amputee and first Indian amputee to climb Mount Everest.

Awards & Honors

• Indian students win 6 Gold Medals at International Junior Science Olympiad, IJSO in Mendoza (Argentina).
• Team India also bagged the Country Winner medal.

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