Current Affairs Pocket PDF

Current Affairs Pocket PDF
Current Affairs Pocket PDF – December 2017
INDIAN AFFAIRS
• On November 30, 2017, Union Cabinet approved setting up of National Nutrition Mission (NNM) with a
three year financial outlay of Rs.9046.17 crore commencing from 2017-18.
• On December 1 2017, Minister of State for Home Affairs Shri Kiren Rijiju inaugurated the 7th edition of three
day ‘Kathakar: International Storytellers Festival’ at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts ( IGNCA),
New Delhi. 'Curious Tales from the Himalayas' co-authored by Shaguna Gahilote and Prarthana Gahilote was
launched during this event.
• A six-member panel set up by government (comprising industry representatives) will recommend several
changes in the existing Goods and Services Tax (GST) law for smoother implementation.
• On December 3, 2017, on the occasion of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Vice President
M Venkaiah Naidu launched Deen Dayal Divyangajan Sahajya Scheme , a one-time grant of Rs 5000 for their
treatment for every differently abled person in Guwahati, Assam.
• On 1st December 2017, India's first Madame Tussauds wax museum was opened at Regal Building,
Connaught Place, New Delhi.It is the 23rd edition all over the world and consists of 50 lifelike figures of
personalities related to history, sports, music, films, and politics.
• On December 3, 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a unique world-class hospital at the
Swaminarayan Gurukul Vidyapeeth Pratisthanam in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
• As per Central Government’s draft notification on the Central Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Rules, 2017,
motor vehicles conforming to Emission Standard Bharat Stage-IV, shall not be registered after 30th June,
2020. After 30th June, 2020, only BS-VI compliant vehicles will be registered.
• 6th International Tourism Mart (ITM) begun in Guwahati, Assam on December 5, 2017. 6th ITM will
conclude on December 7, 2017. This event has been organised by Union Ministry of Tourism in association
with the North Eastern States of India.
• On December 1 2017 Union Ministry of Environment and Forest issued notification to amend National Green
Tribunal (Practices and Procedures) rules, 2011 and therefore Centre allows NGT to form one-member
benches.
• On December 5, 2017, India and Japan held the first meeting under the newly established 'India-Japan Act
East Forum' in New Delhi.It has been set up to identify specific projects for economic development of the
North-Eastern region of India.
• On December 6, 2017, Kerala State Government issued an ordinance raising the minimum age for liquor
consumption from 21 to 23.This ordinance seeks to make suitable amendments to Kerala’s Abkari laws.
• Prime Minister NarendraModi inaugurated the BR Ambedkar International Centre in Janpath, New Delhi
• India’s largest floating solar power plant has been set up on the Banasura Sagar reservoir in Wayanad, Kerala.
This plant has been set up by Kerala state electricity board (KSEB) at a cost of Rs 9.25 crore and with
technical support from Thiruvananthapuram-based Adtech Systems Ltd.
• Central Government has set up a high-level panel which is headed by NITI Aayog chief executive Amitabh
Kant and comprises secretaries in the ministries of power, coal and department of financial services to address
the problem of Non-performing assets (NPAs) in India's power sector.
• Kacheguda Railway Station under the Hyderabad division of the South Central Railway (SCR) has become
the first energy-efficient 'A1 Category' railway station in India. Kacheguda Railway Station will save about
1.76 lakh units and Rs. 14.08 lakh annually.
• International Council for Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) will be organising ICOMOS General Assembly
and Scientific Symposium 2017 with theme of the Scientific Symposium is "Heritage and Democracy" in
New Delhi from 11th – 15th December 2017.
• On December 9, 2017, Union Health Minister J P Nadda announced that India has been declared free from
infective Trachoma which is caused by bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis and it causes inflamed granulation
on the inner surface of the eyelids.
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• On December 8, 2017, Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Culture (Independent Charge), inaugurated
‘Bodhi Parva: BIMSTEC Festival of Buddhist Heritage’ in New Delhi on December 08, 2017. India is hosting
this three-day festival as part of celebrations of 20th anniversary of BIMSTEC.
• On 8th December 2017, the government extended the deadline for mandatory linking of PAN with Aadhaar by
three months to March 31, 2018. Section 139 AA (2) of the Income Tax Act says that every person having
PAN as on July 1, 2017, and eligible to obtain Aadhaar.
• On December 10, 2017, Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Col Rajyavardhan Singh
Rathore announced ‘Khelo India’ programme will be relaunched at a cost of Rs 1756 crore for the period
2017-18 to 2019-20. And also stated that 2018 will be celebrated as Year of Sports.
• On December 9, 2017, UN Women and Facebook inaugurated ‘We The Women’ event in Mumbai under the
curatorship of journalist Barkha Dutt., to empower and recognise the contribution of women in our society.
• Union Health Ministry Jagat Prakash Nadda has launched a 15-day door-to-door campaign across the country
to eliminate the tuberculosis (TB). According to data by World Health Organisation, every year, around 1.1
million TB cases (out of total 2.8 million TB cases) remain unreported and are thereby missed from treatment.
• On December 11, 2017, Union Minister of Law & Justice and Electronics & Information Technology, Ravi
Shankar Prasad inaugurated the first “NIC-CERT”, a setup of National Informatics Centre (NIC) objective to
detect, prevent and respond to cyberattacks on government networks.
• 19th International Workshop on Physics of Semiconductor Devices (IWPSD 2017) was inaugurated by
Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Dr. AS Kiran Kumar at Indian Institute of
Technology (IIT), Delhi on December 12, 2017.
• Department of Heavy Industry (DHI) under Union Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises has
specified that all proposals for supplying electric buses by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)
registered under FAME India Scheme shall be first brought to its notice.
• On 11th December 2017, three-day media workshop on ‘Climate Change Reporting’ began in Kohima. Annu
Anand, head of advocacy at CMS announced the launch of a media fellowship programme.
• Union Home Ministry has released Rs 174 crore to six states - Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Manipur,
West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh - under the Border Area Development Programme (BADP) for development
of infrastructure in forward areas of these states.
• On December 12, 2017, Chandigarh Administrator, VP Singh Badnore in collaboration with the Bank of India
launched Chandigarh smart city cards which is a personalised card having a photograph and other details of
the cardholder.
• Central Government has decided to set up special courts to deal exclusively with criminal cases against
1581 Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs). The 12 special courts
will dispose all such cases within a year. Out of the 12 special courts, 2 special courts will handle cases
against 228 MPs.
• On 12th December 2017, Delhi government has proposed to bear the cost of treatment of victims of motor
accidents, fire incidents and acid attacks that take place on the city's roads at private hospitals under a new
scheme.
• On 12th December 2017, a football legend Diego Maradona, former Argentine World Cup hero was honored
with a massive 12ft, bronze replica in Kolkata.
• On December 14, 2017, Delhi Government set-up a nine-member expert panel headed by Delhi government’s
Director-General of Health Services, Dr. Kirti Bhushan to look into the functioning of private hospitals and
nursing homes
• On 13th December 2017, the 4th India-Australia-Japan Trilateral Dialogue hosted by Foreign Secretary
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar begun in New Delhi.
• Union Water Resources Ministry is planning to merge phase-I and II of Ken-Betwa inter-linking of
rivers (ILR) project such as to link the rivers Ken in Madhya Pradesh and Betwa in Uttar Pradesh. Estimated
cost for the first phase was Rs 18000 crore while second phase would cost Rs 8000 crore.
• On December 15, 2017, Government approved 'Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Marriage Bill', under
which, the practice of instant triple talaq will be made illegal and would attract a jail term of three years. The
draft 'Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Marriage Bill' has been prepared by an inter-ministerial group
headed by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh
• On December 15, 2017 ,Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the second financial
restructuring proposal of Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL).
• On December 20, 2017, Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved "Scheme for Capacity
Building in Textile Sector (SCBTS)", a new skill development scheme, covering the entire value chain of
textile sector , will be implemented from 2017-18 to 2019-20 with financial outlay of Rs 1300 crore.
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• On December 15, 2017,Union Cabinet has approved the continuation of the current Non Lapsable Central
Pool of Resources (NLCPR) scheme for North Eastern India.
• On December 15, 2017,special package for employment generation in leather and footwear sector involves
implementation of ‘Indian Footwear, Leather & Accessories Development Programme’.
• On December 15, 2017 Union Cabinet has approved the continuation of Centrally Sponsored Scheme of
National Ayush Mission (NAM) for three year period from April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2020 with an outlay of
Rs. 2400 crore.
• On December 15, 2017, Union Cabinet approved creation of one circle office of Commissioner of Metro
Railway Safety (CMRS) to monitor rail safety, which includes inspecting new railway lines and safety of
passengers.
• On December 15, 2017, Union Cabinet approved the draft National Medical Commission Bill, which seeks to
replace Medical Council of India (MCI) with a new body, to ensure transparency.
• On 15th December 2017, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar
imposed a complete ban on plastic items like carry bags, plates and cutlery in towns located on the banks of
the River Ganga like Haridwar and Rishikesh.
• On 16th December 2017, President Ram Nath Kovind, laid the foundation stone of the NYAYA GRAM
project of the High Court of Allahabad, in Allahabad.It is a model township of the Allahabad High Court. Rs
395.10 crore has been sanctioned for the project.
• On December 16, 2017, PM Narendra Modi announced Central Government’s decision to invest Rs 90000
crore for building a network of highways and roads in the North Eastern region of India.
On 16th December 2017, Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore announced a sports tie-up between
Lakshmi Bai University of Physical Education and a Japanese university at the commemorative ceremony of
the Japan-India sports exchange programme.
• Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has formed a 30-member central advisory panel, which will advise
government on implementation of the Real Estate Regulation Act (RERA) and will play an important role to
protect the interest of consumers(homebuyers’ interests).
• In a bid to ensure overall development of tribal areas across India and for ensuring inclusive growth of
Scheduled Tribes (STs) including tribal women, Central Government has adopted Tribal Sub-Plan which will
now be referred to as ‘Scheduled Tribe Component’.
• On December 16, 2017, Election Commission (EC) decided to set up a panel to suggest amendments to a
provision in Representation of People Act and the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) will evaluate the
effectiveness of Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act of barring campaigning 48 hours ahead
of polling in context of fast changing communication technologies.
• On December 19, 2017, Rajya Sabha passed the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2017 by a voice vote.This bill
seeks to introduce major amendments in the Companies Act, 2013.
• On December 18, 2017, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Ashwini Kumar Choubey
informed Lok Sabha that Drugs Controller General of India has granted permission to an Indian firm to
conduct Phase-I clinical trials for a Zika vaccine. Zika virus infection is primarily spread by the Aedes egypti
mosquito.
• On December 18, 2017, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, inaugurated the first national-
level training of trainers programme for Sendai Framework in New Delhi. It has been organised by the
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in collaboration with the United Nations Office for
Disaster Risk Reduction-Global Education and Training Institute (UNISDR-GETI).
• NITI Aayog Vice Chairman, Rajiv Kumar has stated that Central Government should consider setting up a
labour utilisation fund in order to handle the challenge of growing redundancy of low-skilled labour in India .
• Central Government has sanctioned 42 Mega Food Parks (MFPs) to be set up across India under Mega Food
Park Scheme, administered by Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries, is to provide a mechanism for
linking agricultural production to the market by bringing together farmers, food processors and retailers.
• On December 19, 2017, Lok Sabha passed the Central Road Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2017, to amend the
Central Road Fund Act, 2000 which contains provision for distributing cess levied and collected on high
speed petrol and diesel for development of national highways, rural roads, railways, state roads and border
area roads.
• On December 19, 2017, Rajya Sabha unanimously passed Indian Institutes of Management (IIM)Bill, 2017
which provides greater functional autonomy to Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and confers powers to
grant degrees instead of post-graduate diplomas.
• In a bid to cut power consumption, the Indian Railways has laid out plan to make all stations 100 per cent
LED lit by March 31, 2018.
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• On 18th and 19th December 2017, the inaugural India-U.S. Counter-Terrorism Designations Dialogue was held
in New Delhi.
• On 16th December 2017, Arun Jaitley, Union Finance Minsiter, stated that the Central Government was
committed to improve the purchasing power of farming community when he was addressing an
international forum on "Role of Rural and Agricultural Finance to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals".
• On December 21, 2017, Union Minister of Communications, Manoj Sinha launched DARPAN – “Digital
Advancement of Rural Post Office for A New India”with financial outlay of Rs. 1400 Crore.
• On December 21, 2017 Cabinet approves by twelve weeks extension of term of the Commission to examine
the issue of sub-categorization of Other Backward Classes headed by Justice (Retd.) Smt. G. Rohini.
• On 20th December 2017, the Indian Forest (Amendment) Bill, 2017 was passed in the Lok Sabha. was
introduced by Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan.As per the bill's Statement of Objects and Reasons,
section 2, the amended will exclude the word "bamboos" from the definition of tree and will eliminate the
need for permission to transport bamboos grown in non-forest area
• Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has launched Students and MEA Engagement Programme
(SAMEEP) to take Indian foreign policy and its global engagements to students in small towns and cities
across India.
• The 7th India International Coffee Festival (IICF) is organised by India Coffee Trust and Coffee Board of
India will be hosted by Bengaluru from 16 to 19 January, 2018, at Hotel Lalit Ashok.
• Union Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation Uma Bharati headed the ‘Ganga Gram Swachhta
Sammelan’ in New Delhi to formally launch the ‘Ganga Gram Project’ under the Namami Gange Program.
• Union Environment Ministry has launched a pilot project for beach clean-up and development. Subsequent to
the development, attempt will be made to procure 'Blue Flag' certification for such identified beaches.
• India’s first aircraft runway on a ‘sea bridge’ will be constructed at Agatti Ariport, Lakshadweep. Airports
Authority of India (AAI) has got an approval to extend by build a Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC)
platform on the beach and shallow sea.
• Union Rural Development Ministry, in partnership with State Governments, has completed the ranking of
50000 Gram Panchayats under ‘Mission Antyodaya’ on three broad parameters of physical infrastructure,
human development and economic activities.
• Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Nitin Gadkari stated that India will link its major highway corridors
to international trade points with bordering countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Myanmar. Cost for
construction of 2000 kms highways under this project is estimated to be Rs. 25000 crore.
• On December 25, 2017, Indian Railways flagged off India’s first air-conditioned suburban local train for
Mumbai commuters. It inaugurated between Borivali and Churchgate on the Western Railway (WR).
• On December 25, 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Botanical Garden-Kalkaji section (of
Magenta Line) of Delhi Metro.This 12.64-km route of Magenta Line will be Delhi Metro’s first line to get
driverless trains.
• Union Home Ministry has released Rs 167 crore to nine states – Rajasthan, Punjab, West Bengal, Tripura,
Assam, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar and Sikkim - under the Border Area Development Programme
(BADP).
• Central Government has drawn up an action plan for improving the socio-economic condition of 115 “most-
backward” districts across India. Under this action plan, Government will setup basic services like healthcare,
education, sanitation as well as basic physical infrastructure like roads and drinking water supply.
• In order to provide relief for disqualified directors of companies, Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs will roll
out ‘Condonation of Delay Scheme’, which will be operational from January 1 to March 31, 2018.
• On 25th December 2017, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) launched ‘Atal Jan Aahar Yojana’
for poor people to provide them meal at Rs 10, marking the Good Governance Day. The menu includes puri,
chapattis, rice, rajma, vegetables, chhole, and halwa and it is provided from 11 am to 2 pm every day.
• On 27th Decemberb 2017, the five-day Teesta Rangit Tourism Festival 2017 started in Darjeeling. It will be
held in separate phases in different places of Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts.
• Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) has selected additional 1500 Schools for establishment of Atal Tinkering Labs
(ATLs), thereby taking the total number of schools selected so far to 2441. Vision of AIM is to ‘Cultivate One
Million children in India as the Innovators of tomorrow’.
• On December 27, 2017, Lok Sabha passed the Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Amendment
Bill, 2017.This amendment bill seeks to increase maximum rate at which compensation cess on the entry
relating to certain category of motor vehicles is being collected by the states.
• On December 26, 2017, India provided medical assistance worth about $1 million to Yemen as part of its
commitment to provide humanitarian assistance.
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• On 27th December 2017, Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain made the announcement in Lok Sabha
the government has planned installation of bio-toilets in all passenger trains to be completed by March 2019.
• The 6th edition of Global Kokan Festival will be inaugurated by Maharashtra Chief Minister, Devendra
Fadnavis at CIDCO Exhibition and Convention Center, Vashi, Navi Mumbai from 6th to 10th January 2018.
Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Suresh Prabhu will be the Guest of Honor
• On December 28, 2017, Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change approved a regional
project on ‘Climate Resilience Building among Farmers through Crop Residue Management’ under the
National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC).
• Central Government has released Rs. 24500 crore compensation to states to make up for revenue loss on
account of Goods and Services Tax (GST) implementation. This compensation is for the period between July-
October 2017.
• On December 29, 2017, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan flagged off ‘Adi Shakara
Sandesh Vahini', mobile museum from a place near Piravom, Kerala. It showcases various aspects of the life
of Adi Shankaracharya, an early 8th century Indian philosopher and theologian who consolidated the doctrine
of Advaita Vedanta.
• On 28th December 2017, the 78th session of the Indian History Congress started at the Jadavpur University
campus, in Kolkata. It consists of 6 sections - Ancient India, Medieval India, Modern India, Countries Other
than India, Archaeology and Contemporary India.
• On 29th December 2017, 'Modi Kaka Ka Gaon', a Hindi feature film inspired by Prime Minsiter Narendra
Modi was released all over India. The film is directed by Tushar A. Goel. The character of Narendra Modi is
played by Mumbai businessman Vikas Mahante.
• Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar has issued a notification that imposes a ban on public display of
weapons such as swords, spears, bludgeons, etc. in Kolkata, effective from 2 January 2018 to 1 January 2019.
• On 29th December 2017, Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the Centre for Entrepreneurship Opportunities and
Learning (CEOL), in Mallikatte, Mangaluru to promote Startup India initiative in India.
• On December 29, 2017, Communication Minister of State (Independent Charge), Manoj Sinha informed the
Parliament that Central Government has approved Rs. 4066 crore for providing internet connectivity to people
in all gram panchayats (GPs) under BharatNet project.
STATEWISE NATIONAL NEWS
Andhra Pradesh:
• On December 2, 2017, Andhra Pradesh State Assembly unanimously passed P. Kapu (Reservation of Seats in
Educational Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in Services under the State) Bill, which provides 5%
reservation in education and employment to Kapu Community in Andhra Pradesh.
• On December 7, 2017, President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the Naval Maritime Aircraft Museum in
Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. This museum features the maritime patrol aircraft Tupolev-142M which
was served for almost three decades in Indian Navy and decommissioned in March 2017.
• On December 16, 2017, Andhra Pradesh State Cabinet approved a scheme to provide a pension of Rs 1500
to transgenders for above 18 years of age in the state. Among other Indian states, Kerala and Odisha have
already introduced pension scheme for transgenders.
• Andhra Pradesh Governmentalong with the UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and
Sustainable Development (MGIEP) is planning to set up a gaming for e-learning hub.It will be the first of the
its kind in India and Asia-Pacific region.
• Andhra Pradesh Endowments Department has issued a circular banning festivities and special darshans at
temples to celebrate New Year. The circular was issued by the Hindu Dharma Parirakshana Trust of the
Endowments Department.
• On December 27, 2017, President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated AP Fibre Grid Project in Amaravati, Andhra
Chandrababu Naidu, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh was also present at the inauguration event. This
project is being implemented by Andhra Pradesh State Fibernet Limited (APSFL).
• India's first Electronic Manufacturing Cluster (EMC) will be coming to Andhra Pradesh.
An EMC is designed and developed for providing facilities and amenities for manufacturing mobiles and
allied products.
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Arunachal Pradesh
• Scientists have discovered a new frog species "Odorrana arunachalensis" in Talle Valley Wildlife Sanctuary
(WLS) at Lower Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh.Odorrana arunachalensis species is seen only during
the wet season, from April to September.
• On 15th to 18th December 2017, Orange Festival of Music and Adventure was held in Dambuk village of
Arunachal Pradesh.Dambuk produces some of the best oranges of India.Director of the Orange festival
was Abu Tayeng.
Assam
• On December 29, 2017, Union Shipping Minister, Nitin Gadkari flagged off cargo movement on the Pandu-
Dhubri route (on National Waterway 2) along the Brahmaputra River in Assam.It will reduce logistics cost
and save 300 km road travel.
• On December 28, 2017, Assam Chief Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal launched skill development training
centres at Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra in Guwahati.
Bihar
• On December 11, 2017, Bihar State Government approved a "Safe City Surveillance" scheme for curbing eve-
teasing, harassment and other crimes against women at public places. Patna will be the first district to be
covered under this scheme.
• On December 30, 2017, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar laid foundation stones for more than 100 projects
worth Rs 700 crore in Nalanda district.These projects were launched during the second phase of Nitish
Kumar’s state-wide "Vikas Samiksha Yatra" which began on December 28, 2017.
Chhattisgarh
• On December 1 2017, Chhattisgarh government has passed a ban on the use of firecrackers during winter in
Raipur, Bilaspur, Durg, Bhilai, Raigarh and Korba.State Environment Ministry and the Chhattisgarh
Environment Conservation Board had passed the order and it will be came to effect from December 1 to
January 31.
• On December 2, 2017, Tendu Leaf Bonus Festival was inaugurated in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh.At the
inauguration Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh distributed 247 crore bonus will be distributed during
the course of this 10-day Tendu Leaf Bonus Festival.
• On 10th and 11th December 2017, the Tribal Development Department organised a two-day Tribal
Festival, "Adivasi Mahotsav" in Raipur, Chhattisgarh to honor the freedom fighter Shahid Veernarayan Singh.
• Jokapatha village, a tribal village in Balrampur district of Chhattisgarh got electricity connection for the first
time since independence under Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana 'Saubhagya' scheme.
Goa
• On 15th – 22nd December 2017, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar inaugurated the second edition of the
Serendipity Arts festival is held in Goa. The festival is hosted across 11 venues which are a mix of indoor and
outdoor locations.
• On December 6, 2017, Goa State Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister, Manohar Parrikar has approved Solar
Power Policy, under which the State Government has laid out plans to generate 150 MW of solar power by
2021.
Gujarat
• On December 21, Union Cabinet has approved Railway Ministry’s initiative to set up the first
ever National Rail and Transport University (NRTU) in Vadodara, Gujarat.
• On 23rd December 2017, the second edition of the Iranshah Udvada Utsav, a Parsi cultural three day festival
started in Gujarat.
• On 27th December 2017, the 25th National Children Science Congress was inaugurated by Gujarat Chief
Minister in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The theme of the 25th National Children Science Congress is: 'Science and
Innovation for Sustainable Development'.
• Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won Gujarat legislative assembly elections for the sixth straight time in 182-
member Gujarat assembly.BJP also won state assembly election in Himachal Pradesh. In the 68–member
Himachal Pradesh State Assembly.
Haryana
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• World University of Deisgn (WUD), India's first and only Design University opened its campus at Sonipat,
Haryana. The World University of Design is promoted by Om Parkash Bansal Educational and Social Welfare
Trust of Mandi Gobindgarh, Punjab.
• On December 30, 2017, From Karnal district ,Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar launched
Bhavantar Bharpayee Yojana from which farmers will be compensated by state government, whenever the
market prices of the stipulated produce go below the mentioned prices.
Jammu and Kashmir

• On 11th December 2017, the Jammu and Kashmir government launched SAUBHAGYA (Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar
Yojna) with an aim to provide free electricity connections to poor people in the state.
• On 19th December 2017, Losar Festival has started the celebration for 3 to 9 days in different parts of Ladakh
of Jammu and Kashmir.
• On December 14, 2017, Jammu and Kashmir Bank launched "J&K Bank Sahafat Finance Scheme” for
journalists of the state for buying cameras, laptops, tablets and books. Loan under this schemes is being
offered at J&K Bank’s Marginal Cost of Funds Based Lending Rate(MCLR) plus 3.4 per cent interest rate.
Karnataka
• On 24th December 2017, Brand Bengaluru’s own logo was launched at the 'Namma Bengaluru Habba festival,
at Vidhana Soudha, in Bengaluru. The logo was unveiled by Karnataka Tourism Minister Priyank Kharge.
The logo is red and black and written partially in English and Kannada.
Madhya Pradesh
• Madhya Pradesh State Government has approved Rs 7546-crore project for linking Narmada River with
Parvati River which will create irrigation facilities on two lakh hectares of agriculture land in Malwa region of
Madhya Pradesh.
• On 14th December 2017, Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Dr Harsh Vardhan
inaugurated the seven-day International Herbal Fair started in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Delegations from
Bhutan, Nepal, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and other countries attended the Fair.
• On December 4, 2017, Madhya Pradesh State Assembly unanimously passed ‘Dand Vidhi (Madhya Pradesh
Sanshodhan) Vidheyak, 2017’, a bill that proposes ‘hanged till death’ sentence for convicts of rape and gang-
rape cases involving girls below 12 years of age.
Maharashtra
• On December 5, 2017, Maharashtra State Cabinet becomes first state to approve ‘Industrial Policy for Women
Entrepreneur’ with an aim to encourage women entrepreneurs in the state. Woman entrepreneurscan avail Rs
15 lakh to Rs 1 crore for capital investment in project at 5%.
• Maharashtra State government decided offer cash rewards to gram panchayats and urban local bodies for
making their respective areas plastic-free.Maharashtra has placed a state-wide ban on plastic bags below 50
microns. First prize will be Rs 5 lakh.
• Maharashtra Government has started efforts to adopt Clinical establishment (Registration and Regulation) Act
with an aim to ensure the minimum standards of facilities and services provided by them.
Manipur
• 2018 edition of Indian Science Congress will be held at Manipur University in Imphal, Manipur in March
2018.This will be the 105th edition of Indian Science Congress.’Reaching the Unreached Through Science
and Technology’ will be the focal theme of this event.
Meghalaya
• On December 15, 2017, Meghalaya Chief Minister, Mukul Sangma launched ‘The Meghalaya Community
Participation and Public Services Social Audit Act, 2017’ and become first state in India to operationalise a
law that integrates social audit of government programmes and schemes as part of government practice.
Nagaland
• On Dec.1 2017, Shri Ram Nath Kovind , the President of India inaugurated the Hornbill Festival and State
Formation Day celebrations of Nagaland in Kisama.It will be celebrated every year from 1 - 10 December, in
Nagaland. It is also called the 'Festival of Festivals'.
• On 15th December 2017, the Nagaland Assembly passed a resolution unanimously revoking the provisions
of 33 % reservation for women in urban local bodies.
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Odisha
• On December 1 2017, five-day dance festival has started near the world famous Sun Temple of Konark in
Bhubaneswar,Odisha. Konark Dance Festival is a five day dance festival in the month of December 1 to 5
held every year in backdrop of the Sun temple in Konark,
• On December 9, 2017, Odisha CM, Naveen Patnaik inaugurated Purvasha Folk and Tribal Art Museum set up
at Barkul near Chilika and also launched the website of ODIART Centre.
• On December 16, 2107, Union Petroleum Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated Eastern India's first
compressed natural gas (CNG) stations in Bhubaneswar, Odisha to supply CNG to vehicles. The two CNG
stations are located at Chandrasekharpur and Patia area in Bhubaneswar.
• On 22nd December 2017, Mystic Kalinga, is an extension of Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF) , a two day
international poetry festival was inaugurated by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasdev in Bhubaneswar, Odisha with the
theme -"Aseema" - Transcending Boundaries.
• On 26th December 2017, the Odisha government decided to split the tourism and culture department and
initiated setting up of Odia Language Commission. The cultural wing was also renamed as Odia Language,
Literature and Culture Department.
• On December 26, 2017, Odisha State Government decided to set up a unique ‘Heritage Cabinet’ headed by
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik with an objective to preserve the relics and monuments across the state.
• Odisha police will go digital from January 1, 2018, as routine work in police stations across the state will be
computerised under the Criminal Tracking and Networking System (CCTNS).CCTNS project is being
implemented under the national e-governance initiative at a cost of Rs. 61 crore.
Punjab
• On 18th December 2017, the Punjab government announced a complete ban on the manufacturing, sale,
production, supply and use of kite string made of nylon, plastic or any other synthetic material. Permission is
given only for a cotton thread free from any sharp, metallic, glass component, adhesive and thread
strengthening material.
Rajasthan
• Rajasthan has become the first state in India to offer free e-mail address in Hindi to its residents.
• Japan has decided to offer a grant worth 8.4 million Yen for the construction of a vocational training
centre for poor women and youth in Rajasthan's Baran district.
• On 13th December 2017, On the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the BJP government in Rajasthan
,Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje announced the increase in age limit while applying for
government jobs from 35 to 40 years.
• On 21st December 2017, the Rajasthan government announced 1 % reservation within the 50 percent legal
limit, for Gujjars and four other communities such as Banjara, Gadia-Lohar, Rebari and Gadaria, still retaining
their Other Backward Classes (OBC) status.
• The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced its first impact bond across the
globe by launching ‘Rajasthan Development Impact Bond’ to reduce the number of mother and baby deaths
by improving the quality of maternal care in Rajasthan’s health infrastructure.
Sikkim
• On December 15, 2017,Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved Capital Investment Subsidy of
Rs.264.67 crore to four industrial units located in North Eastern Region (NER) including Sikkim.
Tamil Nadu
• On December 7, 2017, a centre for excellence in floriculture jointly set up by India and Israel was inaugurated
at Thally in Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu.Itis the first agro-technology development centre set up with
assistance of Mashev, Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.
Telangana
• On December 2, 2017, Telangana State Government announced that it would set up the world's
first Information Technology (IT) Campus for Persons with Disabilities (PWD) in Hyderabad. Telangana
State Government has entered into an agreement with Vindhya E-Infomedia Private Limited.
• Telangana State Government’s Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS) has got environment clearance
from Union Ministry of Environment and Forest. However, the clearance came along with certain conditions.
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• The International Sweet Festival will be hosted by Hyderabad from January 13 to 15, 2018 at the parade
ground, Hyderabad. Telangana Tourism Secretary Burra Venkatesham has announced that the International
Sweet Festival will coincide with the International Kite festival at Hyderabad
• Telangana Prisons Department has launched a drive to turn Hyderabad into "Beggar Free" at Global
Entrepreneurship Summit that was held in Hyderabad from 28th – 30th November, 2017. They started two
Beggar homes, one is in Challapalli jail for female beggars and Chanchalguda jail for male beggars.
• From January 1, 2018, farmers in Telangana will get 24-hour free power supply.This is a first of its kind
initiative, undertaken by Telangana State Government which will benefit 23 lakh farmers in Telangana.
Tripura
• The Tripura Government has introduced Child Care Leave (CCL) for women employees with minor children
for 730 days in their entire service life. Employees enjoying the CCL for children’s sickness or
examinations would be paid leave salary.
Uttar Pradesh:
• On 4th December 2017, Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district was included in the National Capital Region (NCR),
taking the total number of districts in the NCR to 23. The decision was taken at the 37th meeting of the
National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) held in New Delhi.
• Uttar Pradesh became the first state to endorse Central Government’s draft bill that makes the practice of
instant "triple talaq" a cognisable and non-bailable criminal offence. As per SC, practice of "triple talaq"
violates Article 14 of Indian Constitution. Central Government’s draft provides for three-year imprisonment
• On 12th December 2017, Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik unveiled a new multi-coloured logo for the
Kumbh Mela to be held in Allahabad in January 2019. Ram Naik also launched the Kumbh's tagline "Chalo
Kumbh Chalo-Chalo, Kumbh Chalo", Uttar Pradesh Tourism's slogan "UP Nahin Dekha to India Nahin
Dekha"
• Uttar Pradesh’s Minister for Religious Works and Culture, Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary has proposed U.P
Government will set up a research institute for the study of the 'Bhagavad Gita' in Mathura at 144th
anniversary celebration of the Government Museum, Mathura.
• Uttar Pradesh State Government, under Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath has scrapped ‘Shravan Yatra’, a
scheme under which elderly citizens could undertake pilgrimage free of cost , entire boarding and lodging
expenses was borne by the state government.
• On 22nd December 2017, Uttar Pradesh assembly passed the UP Excise (Amendment) Bill 2017 was
introduced by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna, to award death penalty life sentence and fine
ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh in case of death due to consumption of spurious liquor.
• Government data states that, Uttar Pradesh has recorded the highest death count in India due to Acute
Respiratory Infections (ARI) in 2016. It is followed by West Bengal in the 2nd position and 3rd position is
occupied by Delhi.
• On 25th December 2017, Uttar Pradesh government introduced 'Prakash hai to vikas hai', a free household
power connection scheme for the poor people, to mark former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birth
anniversary.
• Construction work on Jewar Airport in Greater Noida will commence in December 2018, earlier than Uttar
Pradesh government's scheduled plan. On completion, Jewar airport will be India’s biggest airport in terms of
area.
West Bengal
• West Bengal State Education Minister Partha Chatterjee tabled the Bill named ‘West Bengal Green University
Bill 2017’ has been passed in West Bengal Assembly to set up an environmental studies university at Hooghly
district.
• West Bengal State Government has announced of provided life insurance cover amounting to Rs 5 lakh each
pilgrim arriving for upcoming Gangasagar fair .It is held annually on the occasion of Makar Sankranti at the
confluence of the Ganges at Sagra Islands in South 24 Parganas district.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
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• On December 1, 2017, India was re-elected to Council of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO)
under category B in London. Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Y K Sinha represented India
at the election.
• On December 1, 2017, Philippines Government suspended its world's first dengue vaccination programme,
after Dengvaxia vaccine’s producer, French pharmaceutical giant, Sanofi Pasteur revealed that the vaccine
could prove harmful in certain cases.
• Indian engineers have launched a major road project i.e to repair and rehabilitate the Malakal-Melut road in
South Sudan to improve connectivity between two major cities of South Sudan. The project is being
implemented by Indian engineers serving with the United Nations Mission (UNMISS).
• On December 3, 2017, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani inaugurated the first phase of strategic Chabahar
Port in South-Eastern Iran, on the Gulf of Oman.The first phase has been named Shahid Beheshti port.
Minister of State for Shipping, Pon Radhakrishnan represented India at the inauguration function.
• The word “populism” has been announced as the Cambridge Dictionary 2017 Word of the Year.
The word “populism” has been selected based on the criteria that the word should not only be the most
searched-for words but is also reflected in spikes.
• On December 4, 2017, India has taken such stand for the first time submitted a formal document opposing any
negotiations on e-commerce at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
• On December 4, 2017, US Government under President Donald Trump has announced to withdraw from the
United Nations (UN) Migrant and Refugee Pact. This declaration was strongly supported by the then US
President Barack Obama.
• On December 5, 2017, United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced that it has formed a new economic and
partnership group with Saudi Arabia, separate from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
• On 4thDecember 2017, the US Supreme Court ruled that a ban ordered by Donald Trump on travelers from six
Muslim-majority countries Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, plus North Korea and Venezuela
and two other countries could be immediately imposed.
• According to the World Energy Access report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), electrification rate
in India has almost doubled since 2000. India is poised to achieve ‘electricity for all’ target in the early 2020s.
• On December 7, 2017, Australian Parliament voted in favour to legalise same-sex marriage. Australia has thus
become 24th country in the world to allow same-sex couples to marry.
• On 6thDecember 2017, US President Trump formally recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
• International Solar Alliance becomes Treaty-based International Intergovernmental organization.Guinea
became the 15th country to ratify, 46 countries have signed and 19 countries have ratified the Framework
Agreement of ISA
• On December 5, 2017, Somali Government and United Nations (UN) signed the UN Strategic Framework for
Somalia (UNSF), under which United Nations will support Somalia’s development in priority areas over the
next four year
• Australia joined the International Solar Alliance (ISA).This decision was jointly announced by Australian PM
Malcolm Turnbull, Minister for Environment and Energy, Josh Frydenberg and Minister for Foreign Affairs
Julie Bishop.
• On December 9, 2017, Iraq Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi declared victory in a three-year war by Iraqi
forces against Islamic State jihadist group.
• S. will issue travel advisories from January 2018 to its citizens based on a four- level classification system
such as Level I - exercise normal precautions , Level II - exercise increased caution , Level III - reconsider
travel and Level IV - do not travel.
• On December 10, 2017, China started trial operations of Shanghai Yangshan Deep Water Port, which is
covers 2.23 million square metres areas and has a 2350-metre shoreline referred to as world's biggest
automated container terminal.
• On December 11, 2017, United States (US), South Korea and Japan started a joint drill in waters near the
Korean peninsula and Japan to track missiles from North Korea.
• On 9thDecember 2017, Sri Lanka formally handed over the strategic southern port of Hambantota to China on
a 99-year lease. Sri Lanka received $292 million out of a $1.12 billion deal which will link ports and roads
between China and Europe.
• On 12thDecember 2017, Singapore launched its first large-scale electric car-sharing programme to provide
commuters with more transport options and steer them away from the need to buy their own cars.
• ‘Feminism’ has been named word of the year 2017 by the American dictionary Merriam-Webster.They added
70% increase in online searches for the word ‘feminism’ in 2017 compare to 2016.
• On 14thDecember 2017, Sri Lanka became the 163rd nation to accede to the anti-personnel mine ban
convention.
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• Norway has become the first country in the world to shut down national broadcasts of its frequency
modulation (FM) network and switchover to Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) which has begun in January
2017.
• Oxford Dictionaries has declared "Youthquake" as 2017's Word of the Year, reflecting what it calls a political
awakening among millennial voters.
• ‘Dubai Camel Hospital’, world’s first hospital at a cost of $10.9 million for camels, opened in Dubai . It is to
be noted that Camels are an important part of United Arab Emirates (UAE’s) heritage.
• On December 15, 2017, Iran opened its first ‘Monir Museum’, which opened in Tehran dedicated to Monir
Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, a solo female artist who has garnered widespread international attention during
decades of exile.
• On December 17, 2017, Switzerland unveiled world’s steepest funicular railway link to the alpine resort of
Stoos. Funicular is a type of cable railway (a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails) on an
inclined pane of cliff.
• On 19thDecember 2017, the Indian and Sri Lankan navies completed the 2nd phase of the joint oceanographic
survey conducted off the South Western Coast of Sri Lanka. Indian Naval Ship (INS) Sutlej went to Sri Lanka
for this survey.
• On December 19, 2017, France's parliament approved a law banning all exploration and production of oil and
natural gas by 2040. French Government has also decided that no new exploration licenses will be granted and
existing drilling permits will not be renewed.
• On 19thDecember 2017, China announced its plan for a national carbon market that would be the world’s
biggest trading system for climate-warming emissions. China’s National Development and Reform
Commission vice-chairman Zhang Yong said, this national carbon market will initially include only the power
sector.
• India’s External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumarannounced a grant of $25
million as development assistance for Rakhine State of Myanmar and the amount will be over a period of five
years.
• India’s Ambassador to Egypt, Sanjay Bhattacharyya has announced that it would set up a Centre of
Excellence in Information Technology (CEIT) at Al Azhar University, Egypt.
• On December 21, 2017, United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) passed a resolution rejecting the
American recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
• On December 22, 2017, National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval of India and Yang Jiechi, represented China
held talks in New Delhi to discuss important aspects related to border issues.
• On December 24, 2017 World's longest glass pedestrian bridge opened in Hebei Province of China with the
length 488 meters, and the width is about two meters. The bridge connects two mountain peaks in Hunyagu in
Pingshan County and is suspended at an altitude of 218 meters above the valley.
• On 22ndDecember 2017, Russian State Corporation for Atomic Energy (Rosatom) Overseas and Sudan’s
Ministry of Water Resources, Irrigation and Electricity announced that it has signed an agreement to build the
first nuclear power plant for electricity production in Khartoum, Sudan.
• Construction of Bangladesh's first eco-friendly thermal power plant with ultra-modern clean coal technology
has been started by a Chinese consortium in central The thermal power plant is constructed near a sea port in
Payra town in Patuakhali district of Bangladesh.
• On 22ndDecember 2017, President Donald Trump signed the $1.5 trillion tax overhaul into law. This law is
expected to benefit big corporations and wealthy Americans
• Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales has announced plans to move country’s embassy in Israelto Jerusalem.
Guatemala is the first country to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem following United
States of America (USA’s) recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital on December 6, 2017.
• Cultural authorities at United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have
recognized the skill of Ecuadorian artisans who make ‘Panama Hats’.
• On 27thDecember 2017, the second India-Afghanistan air cargo route connecting Kabul and Mumbai was
launched by Afghan and Indian officials at the Hamid Karzai international airport,
• China has launched the world’s largest human genome research project to document links between health and
sicknessand use that information to generate precision medicines for the future.
• As part of preparation of Mars Exploration Mission , China will build a Martian village (simulating the
environmental conditions on Mars) in the red rock area of the Qaidam basin in western Qinghai.
• China has successfully tested its first photovoltaic highway based on home-grown technology using solar
panels which have a thin sheet of clear concrete on top of them constructed in Shandong province.
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• Pakistan’s Government has decided to set up a new hydropower project of over 700 megawatts in Pakistan-
occupied Kashmir (PoK).The project has been named Azad Pattan Hydropower Project (APHP). It is a run of
river scheme on Jhelum River located in the Sudhanoti district of PoK.
• On 31stDecember 2017, China shut down its legal government-sanctioned ivory trade.
• In 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping and then U.S. President Barack Obama took a joint pledge to put an end
to ivory trade. As per this decision, China has closed all its licensed ivory carving factories and retailers
BANKING & FINANCE
RBI 5th Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy statement for the financial year 2017-2018
Policy Repo Rate 6.00% Unchanged – since 2nd August 2017
Reverse Repo Rate 5.75% Unchanged – since 2nd August 2017
Marginal Standing Facility Rate 6.25% Unchanged – since 2nd August 2017
Bank Rate 6.25% Unchanged – since 2nd August 2017
Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) 4.00% Unchanged – since 9thFebruary 2013
Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) 19.50% With Effect from 14th October 2017
Economic growth forecast has been retained at 6.7 per cent.
RBI projected inflation to stay in the range of 4.3-4.7 per cent
RBI in News
• According to the weekly data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s foreign exchange reserves
crossed the $ 400-billion mark again, in the week to November 24, 2017. As per RBI data, forex reserves
increased by $ 1.208 billion to touch $ 400.741 billion.
• On December 12, 2017, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised the limits by 6400 crore in Central Government
Securities (G-Secs) and Rs. 5800 crore in State development loans (SDLs) for investment by foreign portfolio
investors (FPIs) for the January-March 2018 quarter.
• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed Rs 3 crore penalty on IndusInd Bank for breached Income
Recognition and Asset Classification (IRAC) norms. It was observed that IndusInd Bank did not adhere to
regulatory restrictions pertaining to non-fund based (NFB) facilities.
• On December 12, 2017, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed a penalty of Rs 5 crore on Syndicate Bank for
non-compliance with its directions on Know Your Customer (KYC)" norms Cheque Purchase or Discounting
and Bill Discounting.
• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has initiated prompt corrective action (PCA) against Bank of India owing to its
high non-performing loans, negative return on assets for two consequent years and insufficient capital.
• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has initiated prompt corrective action (PCA) against United Bank of India owing
to its high net non-performing loans, low leverage ratio and requirement to raise capital.
• Minister of State for Finance, Shiv Pratap Shuklahas informed Lok Sabha that Indian Banks lost Rs 16789
crore on account of frauds during 2016-17.This figure is based on fraud monitoring reports submitted by the
scheduled commercial banks and select financial institutions to Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) of Indian public sector banks
stood at Rs 7.34 lakh crore by the end of September 2017. NPAs of private sector banks' at the end of
September 2017 was considerably low at Rs 1.03 lakh crore.
• International investment firm, KKR & Co has received an approval from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to start
an asset reconstruction company (ARC) in India and has thereby become the first foreign investor to fully own
ARC in India.
• Global mobile payments company, OBOPAY has procured a license for Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI)
from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate a semi-closed loop wallet in India. It will be able to solve
various digital payment related problems for its partner clients.
• Finance Ministry has notified the reduction in interest rates on Small Saving Schemes for January -March
2018 quarter by 20 basis points (0.2%) as compared to October- December 2017 quarter.
Small Savings Scheme Annual Interest Rate
Public Provident Fund (PPF) 7.6%
National Savings Certificate (NSC) 7.6%
Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) 7.3% (11 months maturity)
Sukanya Samriddhi Account 8.1%
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5-year Senior Citizens Savings Scheme 8.3% (Unchanged from previous quarter)
Savings Deposit 4.0% (Unchanged from previous quarter)
Term Deposits (1-5 year maturity) 6.6% to 7.4%
5-year Recurring Deposit 6.9%
Technology in Banking
Name of Entity Technology implemented Points to be noted
Paytm Payments Bank Paytm FASTag FASTag would enable electronic
toll-fee collection on highways .
Samsung in partnership with 'Bill Payments' on Samsung Pay Users can pay their mobile, landline
Axis Bank phone, electricity, gas, water and
DTH bills using this feature.
Loans issued by banks/others
Loan issued by Received by Amount Points to be noted
Asian Reliance Power USD 583 To develop its 750 MW power plant and
Development Bank (ADB) million Liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal
project in Bangladesh
Asian Development Bank Karnataka Government USD 346 Million to improve 419 km of state
(ADB) million highways by upgrading it to two and four-
lane highways
International Monetary Fund Madagascar $44.5 To support Madagascar’s economic
(IMF) million recovery
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bangalore Metro Rail USD 335 This is AIIB's first loan for a metro
Bank (AIIB) Project Reach 6 (R6) million project.
International Bank for India - SANKALP USD 250 Loan for the Skills Acquisition and
Reconstruction and Project million Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood
Development (IBRD) Promotion (SANKALP) Project
World Bank Pakistan USD 825 Loan for upgrading its energy and public
million finance sectors
International Bank for Uttar Pradesh (UP) USD 40 Million for a tourism project in Uttar
Reconstruction and million Pradesh (UP) with a maturity term of 19
Development, IBRD years
State Bank of India Lendingkart Rs. 25 Loan raised in the form of cash credit
crore facility which can be drawn in separate
tranches as and when it needs.This will be
the first time SBI funding for a digital
financial company.
YES Bank and the European India $400- A co-finance programme of renewable
Investment Bank (EIB) million power generation projects being built and
operated by leading Indian companies and
private sector developers in India.
German Development Bank North Eastern Electric 20 million Additional funding of 20 million
(KfW) Power Corporation Ltd. Euro Euro for Pare Hydro Electric Plant (Pare
(NEEPCO) HEP)
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International Development Indian Government - USD 125 Loan for the “Skills Strengthening for
Association, IDA (STRIVE) Project million Industrial Value Enhancement Operation
(STRIVE) Project”.
World Bank Group Egypt $1.15 bn Approved development policy loan for
Egypt to support its economic reform
programme.
MoUs/Agreements in Banking & Finance
• Fino Payments Bank has signed up an agreement with Rajasthan government's RajCOMP ,as its corporate
business correspondent and will offer banking services to people across the state. It will act as banking points
of Fino Payments Bank.
• Danny Alexander, Vice-President and Corporate Secretary of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
(AIIB) has stated that India is the first country where AIIB has approved more than $1 billion of financing
which includes funding support primarily for energy, transport and broader infrastructure projects.
• AU Small Finance Bank has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Sahaj e-Village for
providing its banking service in remote areas of India under the flagship of National e-Governance Plan
(NeGP) of Central Government.
• On December 19, 2017, Indian Government signed a Financing Agreement for International Development
Association, IDA (member of the World Bank Group)
• On December 30, 2017, Allahabad Bank made an agreement with National e-Governance Services Limited
(NeSL) for utilizing its Information Utility Services envisaged under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code,
2016.State-owned NeSL is the first Information Utility entity registered by Insolvency and bankruptcy Board
of India under IBBI (IU) Regulations, 2017.
• Bank of Baroda has entered into MoU with POORTI (’Platform for Online Ordering and Rural
Transformation of India’) Agri Services to help farmers buy agricultural inputs like seed, fertilizers and
pesticides.
Schemes and Launches in Banking & Finance News

• ICICI Bank launched a digital service to allow customers to open a Public Provident Fund (PPF) account
online, eliminating the need for furnishing paper documents
• India’s largest bank, State Bank of India (SBI) has launched ‘State Bank Rewardz’, under this scheme, SBI
customers will get reward points for various transactions across many banking services offer by SBI.
• On December 21, 2017, SBI Cards and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) launched ‘BPCL SBI
Card’, a co-branded credit card.
• On December 2, 2017, Corporation Bank launched its RuPay Select and RuPay Platinum credit cards.
• Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has introduced a framework for the tenure of independent
trustees as well as directors
• Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has announced the creation of a new virtual currency, ‘Petro’ which
would be backed by Venezuela's oil, gas, gold and diamond wealth.
• Rajasthan State Government is setting up Automatic Service ATMs, ‘E-Mitra Plus’ at 9900 Atal Seva
Kendras and 2500 urban location across the state.
• Pluto Exchange, a Dubai-based cryptocurrency dealer has announced the launch of India’s first mobile
application for transacting in virtual currencies. . Pluto Exchange’s app will be India’s first app-based wallet
that enables bitcoin transactions using a mobile number.
• On December 23, 2017, India Government Mint (IGM), Mumbai launched India’s first home-grown high
purity gold reference standard - the Bharatiya Nirdeshak Dravya (BND-4201) which is the reference material
for gold of ‘9999’ fineness (gold that is 99.99 per cent pure).
Other Important Banking & Finance News

• On November 30, 2017, India’s 1 Rupee currency note completed 100 years. First Rupee 1 note was printed in
England and was issued in India on November 30, 1917.Rupee 1 note was issued to replace the silver coin that
was used as Re1 coin.In 1917, Rupee 1 was equal to 10.7 gms of silver.
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• Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company has started digital branch services through its offering ‘Mosambee’.
Mosambee is a handheld device that offers the services just like a mobile branch.
• Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Co Ltdhas launched a video service that seeks to
improve customer engagement
• Axis Securities, a subsidiary of Axis Bank, has become the first-ever broking arm of a bank to take
membership of a commodity exchange by registering itself with NCDEX (National Commodity and
Derivatives Exchange)
• Paytm unveils ‘PaytmKa ATM’ partner outlet for banking operations where customers can open bank
accounts, deposit cash and withdraw
• RBI rationalised merchant discount rate (MDR) in a bid to increase the number of non-cash transactions
• Central Government has roped in ICICI Bank to enable online payments at 470 mandis integrated with
national portal of electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM). ICICI Bank will enable UPI & BHIM
cashless payments
• On 7thDecember 2017, the Financial Services Commission, Mauritius said it has opened its representative
office in Mumbai.
• International or overseas branches of Indian banks will now be able to refinance external commercial
borrowings (ECB) of AAA-rated private and public sector companies.CurrentlyIndian banks are allowed to
fund dollar loans but are not allowed to refinance these borrowings abroad.
• On December 8, 2017, Bombay Stock Exchange’s subsidiary, India International Exchange (India INX)
announced that it has received approval from Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on the
framework for listing of debt securities. Indian and foreign issuers will be able to issue Eurobonds, masala
bonds and foreign currency bonds from India INX.
• Pakistan allowed its currency (Pakistani rupee) to depreciate after important talks with the International
Monetary Fund (IMF). This decision was taken to ensure materialisation of $2.5 billion worth of receipts from
two international bonds launched in November 2017.
• On December 13, 2017, South Korea banned its financial institutions from dealing in virtual currencies such
as This decision has been taken in wake of recent surge in Bitcoin price, which is hitting new lifetime highs
almost on daily basis.
• The World Bank will end its financial support for oil and gas exploration within the next two yearsin response
to the growing threat posed by climate change, it will not finance upstream oil and gas after 2019.
• Private sector lender, Yes Bank has collaborated with advisory services firm, Pantomath Advisory to develop
a Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) ecosystem focused on Maharashtra and Gujarat.
• On 15thDecember 2017, the Cabinet approved an amendment to a current law to allow for payment of an
interim compensation in cheque dishonour cases with a view not to allow unscrupulous elements holding
payments.
• Investment limit in state development loans (SDL) has also been raised to Rs 31500 crore and Rs 13600 crore
for FPIs and long-term FPIs.
• On December 15, 2017, Union Cabinet decided to waive the merchant discount rate (MDR) applicable on all
debit cards, Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) and Unified Payment Interface (UPI) transactions up to Rs
2000.
• A panel formed by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has recommended
easing of norms that require 50 per cent of the funds mobilized from traditional life insurance policies to be
invested in government securities.
• Central Government has infused capital of 51858 crore in public sector banks (PSBs) under the Indradhanush
Plan to resolve issues faced by Public Sector banks and make them capable to compete with Private Sector
banks.
• Airtel has deposited an interim penalty of Rs 2.5 crorewith UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India)
after action was taken against it for allegedly opening payments bank accounts of its mobile subscribers
without their consent.
• On December 21, 2018, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) released the Financial
System Stability Assessment (FSSA) and Financial Sector Assessment (FSA).
• Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has raised the investment limit for foreign portfolio investors
(FPI) in central government securities to Rs 191000 crore from current investment limit Rs 189700 crore.
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• On December 22, 2017, private sector bank, Yes Bank established a Medium Term Note (MTN) programme
to raise USD 1 billion by issuing debt securities in international capital markets to eligible investors.
• As per information provided by Minister of State for Finance, Pratap Shukla in Lok Sabha, Maharashtra and
Uttar Pradesh are the top contributors among all states and Union Territories (UTs) in the first five months
(1st July – 30th November, 2017) of the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.
• Union Home Ministryhas directed all Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), business entities and
individuals who receive funds from abroad to open accounts in any of the 32 designated banks which are
integrated with the central government's Public Financial Management System under Foreign Contribution
(Regulation) Act 2010.
• According to data released by the Income Tax department, only 2 crore Indians (1.7 per cent of the total
population) paid income tax in the assessment year (AY) 2015-16.
• Union Finance Ministry is likely to issue first tranche of recapitalization bonds to public sector banks (PSB) in
January 2018. Recapitalization bonds will not be sold in open market, rather it will be issued to all banks.
• On 26thDecember 2017, Sohan Lal Commodity Management (SLCM) announced its tie up with HDFC Bank
and IndusInd Bank to provide collateral management services.
• On December 24, 2017, United Nations General Assembly approved the regular budget of $5.397 billion for
2018-2019.This marks 5% cut (286 million dollar) as compared to final budget approved for 2016- 2017.
• On 27thDecember 2017, Paytm has become India’s first payments app to cross the 100 million downloads on
Google Play Store in the 2nd week of December 2017.
• Finance Ministry has notified the reduction in interest rates on Small Saving Schemes for January -March
2018 quarter by 20 basis points (0.2%) as compared to October- December 2017 quarter.
• India’s largest public sector bank, State Bank of India (SBI) has announced that its board has approved raising
Rs 8000 crore to meet Basel III capital norms.
• On December 26, 2017, IDBI Bank announced that it has disengaged Moody’s Investors Services (Moody’s)
to rate its bond programmes.IDBI Bank has terminated all contracts with Moody’s pertaining to various issues
made under its MTN (medium term note) Bond Programme.
• Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is considering putting a 10 per cent cross-shareholding cap in
mutual funds in order to avoid the potential conflict of interest.
• Cheque books of account holders of State Bank of India’s (SBI’s) Associate banks that include State Bank of
Patiala, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of
Travancore and Bharatiya Mahila Bank will become invalid after December 31, 2017.
• International rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) has classified Indian Banking sector under ‘Group 5’ of
its Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment (BICRA). As per S&P, risk of rising economic imbalances for
banks in India is ‘low’ on account of good franchise, extensive branch networks and large domestic savings
base.
• Central Government has infused over Rs. 7500 crore equity capital in six stressed public sector banks (PSBs)
such as Bank of India, Central Bank of India, Dena Bank, IDBI Bank, Bank of Maharashtra and UCO Bank
• On December 29, 2017, Federal Bank announced a partnership with Abu Dhabi-based LuLu Exchange to
leverage blockchain technology for cross-border remittances.In collaboration with Digiledge, a Bengaluru
based fintech start-up, Federal Bank and Lulu Exchange have launched and successfully tested the service
using blockchain technology.
• At its board meeting held on December 28, 2017, Indian capital markets regulator, Securities and Exchange
Board of India (SEBI) has initiated some reforms.
• On December 29, 2017, cryptocurrency, Ripple surged almost 50% to $2.20 and thereby became world's
second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.Owing to this surge, Ripple’s market capitalization
reached $86 billion on December 29, 2017, surpassing another digital currency Ethereum ($73 billion market
cap).
• On December 29, 2017, Minister of State for Finance, P Radhakrishnan, informed Lok Sabha that
Central Government has raised an amount of Rs 14500 crore through its BHARAT 22 Exchange Traded Fund
(ETF).
BUSINESS
• On December 7, 2017, Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use
Goods and Technologies admitted India as its 42nd member.India has been admitted to WA, despite of not
being a signatory to NPT.
• On December 8, 2017, an agreement was signed between Mukund Kumar Sinha, HUA Ministry’s officer on
special duty and Wolfgang Hanning Germany’s GIZ Country Director for technical cooperation in the
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implementation of transport projects in Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu), Bhubaneshwar (Odisha) and Kochi
(Kerala) in the presence of Union Housing and Urban Affairs (HUA) Minister Hardeep Singh Puri
• As per current norms, prior permission (called YA number) of DGCA was mandatory for Indian-registered
charters or private jets to fly out of India. Now onwards, DGCA will straightaway issue an authorisation,
having five year validity, to private aircraft operators for carrying out overseas flights based on International
Civil Aviation Organsiations (ICAO’s) Standards and Recommended Practises (SARPs).
• On 8thDecember 2017, Indian Maruti Suzuki became India's sixth most valued firm with market capitalisation
stood at Rs.2.74 trillion, crossing India's largest lender SBI (State Bank of India) of Rs.2.71 trillion . Reliance
Industries is India's most valued company with a market value of ₹5.8 trillion.
• On December 12, 2017, Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) and National Highways Authority
of India (NHAI), signed a MoU to solve the problem of shortage of sand faced by concessionaires working
on highways projects.
• Tata Sons has announced that GE Aviation and Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) have entered into a
partnership to manufacture, assemble, integrate and test aircraft components and will jointly manufacture
CFM International LEAP engine components in India.
• On December 16, 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modiinaugurated the 60 MW Tuirial hydropower project in
Aizawl, Mizoram on Tuirial River which is the first large hydropower project in Mizoram.It was executed
by North Eastern Electric Power Corporation( NEEPCO) under Union Ministry of Power.
• On Dec.16, 2017 Samsung India has partnered with UNESCO MGIEP (Mahatma Gandhi Institute of
Education for Peace and Sustainable Development) to launch first 360-degree video and Virtual Reality (VR)
content of Sun Temple in Konark and Taj Mahal at the Transforming Education Conference for Humanity
(TECH) 2017 in Visakhapatnam.
• Online cab aggregator, Ola entered into an agreement with Bajaj Allianz to offer a comprehensive insurance
programme named ‘Chalo Befikar' for its driver partners. Under this programme, Ola’s driver partners can
avail an insurance cover of up to Rs 5 lakh.
• Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has temporarily barred Bharti Airtel from conducting
Aadhaar-based SIM verification of mobile customers using eKYC process due to Airtel has been using
Aadhaar-eKYC based SIM verification process to open payments bank accounts of without subscribers
consent.
• Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Radha Mohan Singh has announced that India is the second
largest producer (after China) of horticultural crops and fruits in the world at the World Orange Day 2017
event in Nagpur on December 17, 2017.
• On December 18, 2017, Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan stated
that Iraq has overtaken Saudi Arabia to become India's top crude oil supplier in 2017-18.
• Andhra Pradesh State Fibernet Limited (APSFL) has signed an agreement with Alphabet Inc's X to bring high
speed internet to about 12 million households and free space optical communication (FSOC) technology to
improve digital infrastructure in the state by March 2019.
• On December 18, 2017, Directorate General of Training (DGT) under Ministry of Skill Development &
Entrepreneurship and automobile manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki India Limited signed a Memorandum of
Understanding under Skill India Mission to develop specific training modules relevant to the automobile
industry.
• On 19thDecember 2017, the Konkan Railway and IIT Bombay signed a MoU to transform George Fernandes
Institute of Tunnel Technology in Goa to a world-class centre of knowledge in tunnel and underground
structure technologies.
• On 20thDecember 2017, National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) and Dalian
Municipal People's Government signed a joint investment agreement to create a platform called the Sino-
Indian Digital Collaboration Plaza (SIDCOP) in Dalian.
• Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been awarded a USD 2.25-billion outsourcing contract from UK-based
Nielsen Holdings PLC.
• Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has granted scheduled commuter operator (SCO) permitto Air
Deccan under the Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme to make flying, a reality for common people
residing in Tier-II and Tier-III towns.
• National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has created a National Highways Investment Promotion Cell
(NHIPC) to attract domestic and foreign investment for highways projects across India.
• India has initiated an dumping probe on imports of ‘Sodium Nitrite’, used in industries such as pharma and
food processing from Russia. The Directorate General of Anti-dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD)has found
sufficient evidence for dumping of Sodium Nitrite.
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• On December 22, 2017, Indigo's 1000th flight 6E 185 from Mumbai to Kochi became the first Indian carrier
to operate over 1000 flights in a day across India.
• Central Government has recognised Odisha as a 'Champion State' for exports recording the highest growth in
exports during 2016-17.
• Central public sector enterprise, NHPC Ltd has proposed to set up 100-200 Mw capacity solar project
in Odisha.With this proposal, NHPC has joined other public sector enterprises viz. NTPC, NLC (formerly
Neyveli Lignite Ltd) and North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Ltd (NEEPCO) to express interest in
participating in Odisha Government’s upcoming 1000 Mw solar park programme.
• Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has allowed Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) - manufactured
Dornier 228 for civilian flights. It will now become the first ‘Made in India’ plane to be used for commercial
flights.
• On December 27, 2017, Maruti Suzuki India announced that it has entered into a partnership with Delhi
government to set up 12 automated driving test centers across the city.
• State-owned natural gas processing and distribution company GAIL Ltd. has placed orders for another 400-
km of pipeline under Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga natural gas pipeline project.
ECONOMY
• Global ratings agency Fitch has lowered the India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth projection for
2017-18 to 7 per cent from earlier 6.9 per cent.This revelation was done in Fitch's December 2017 Global
Economic Outlook (GEO) released on December 4, 2017.
• According to global financial services major, Morgan Stanley, India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth
is likely to grow from 4 per cent in 2017 to 7.5 per cent in 2018 and further to 7.7 per cent in 2019.
• Global investment bank Nomura from Tokyo,Japan has predicted India’s economy to register a 7.5 % growth
rate in 2018, saying it is on the cusp of a cyclical recovery.
• As per 'World Economic Situation Prospects' (WESP 2018), released by United Nations, India’s Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) is projected to accelerate from 7 per cent in 2017 to 7.2 per cent in 2018 and 7.4 per
cent in 2019.
• In a supplement to its Asian Development Outlook (ADO), Asian Development Bank (ADB) has lowered
India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) forecast for current economic 2017-18 by 0.3 per cent to 6.7 per cent.
The growth forecast for 2018-19 has also been lowered to3 per cent from 7.4 per cent.
• According to Japanese financial services major Nomura, Indian economy may witness a sharp recovery in the
January-March 2018 quarter and its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for 2018 is likely to be around 7.5
per cent.
• Insurers and reinsurers can now set up facilities at IFSC Special Economic Zones (SEZ), as per IRDAI’s
(Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India) new guidelines on International Financial Service
Centre Insurance Offices (IIO).
• As per 2018 World Economic League Table released by Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr),
Indian economy will surpass Britain and France in 2018 and will thus become the fifth largest economy.
• Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmer's Welfare, Radha Mohan Singh has stated that Central Government
has increased the budget of Agricultural Education by 47.4% this year as compared to the financial year 2013-
14.
• India has become the biggest importer of U.S. oil refinery by-product ‘petcoke’, which in 2016 got almost a
fourth of all the fuel-grade "petcoke"the U.S. shipped out. Petroleum coke called as ‘petcoke’, a U.S. oil
refinery by-product, is cheaper and burns hotter than coal.
• On November 30, 2017, India Index Services and Products Ltd (IISL) launched the Nifty LargeMidcap 250
Index. IISL is a subsidiary of National Stock Exchange (NSE) will track the performance of 100 large-cap and
150 mid-cap companies listed on National Stock Exchange (NSE).
• Combined index of eight core industries rose 4.7 per cent in October 2017.The growth was primarily on the
back of higher refinery and coal production. Coal production increased by 3.9 per cent while crude oil refinery
production grew by 7.5 per cent in October 2017.
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MoUs
MoUs Between Countries
No. MoU between Field

1 India –Brazil approval for signing and ratification of the Investment Cooperation and
Facilitation Treaty (ICFT)
2 India – Colombia MoU in several aspects of agriculture including innovative agricultural
practices/approaches, new agricultural mechanizations and cooperation in research
in oil seeds , oil palm and fisheries.
3 India – Cuba ex-post-facto approval on cooperation in the field of Health and Medicine.
4 India – Germany a loan agreement for the project ‘Climate Friendly Urban Mobility III’
5 India –Italy i. approval for cooperation in Agriculture and Phytosanitary issues
ii. approval for cooperation in the field of Health and Medicine.
6 India – Myanmar MoU for improving socio-economic condition of Rakhine State
7 India and Morocco signed several agreements for cooperation in areas of Water Resources, Road,
Marine and Health Sectors during the course of the visit of Moroccan
Government’s delegation led by Mr. Abdelkader Amara
8 India – Switzerland Signed an agreement to allow automatic sharing of tax- related information.
MoUs – Statewise
No State MoU with Field
1 Assam Isha Foundation MOU for rejuvenation and conservation of rivers. Isha
Foundation is led by spiritual leader Sadhguru Jaggi
Vasudev
2 Chhattisgarh Central Government MoU for the 2nd phase of Bharat Net project to lay
32,466 km of optical fiber cable in 5987 Gram
Panchayats of Chhattisgarh
4 Meghalaya Union Ministry of Government for successful sanction of Rs. 75 crore for
Petroleum & Natural Gas setting up a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) bottling
plant in Meghalaya with an annual capacity of 13000
metric tonnes.
3 Tamil Nadu & World Bank $318 million loan agreement - for modernisation of
Central irrigation projects in Tamil Nadu, adoption of climate
Government resilient techniques and for improving market
opportunities for small and marginal farmers.
4 Telangana Vindhya E-Infomedia To set up the world's first Information Technology (IT)
Private Limited Campus for Persons with Disabilities (PWD) in
Hyderabad
5 Uttar Pradesh South Korea MoU for improving cooperation in tourism, skill
development, culture and farming.
Other Important MoUs

• On November 30, 2017, Union Cabinet approved transfer of all land assets owned by Hindustan Vegetable
Oils Corporation Ltd (HVOC) to Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) for appropriate
utilization/ disposal.
• On November 30, 2017, ADIF (Spanish state-owned company) and National Capital Region Transport
Corporation (NCRTC) made an agreement for construction of the three Regional Rapid Transit System
(RRTS) corridors are Delhi-Meerut, Delhi-Panipat and Delhi-Alwar.
• On December 15, 2017, Cabinet approves an agreement with UNESCO on establishment of International
Training Centre for Operational Oceanography in Hyderabad.
• On December 12, 2017, Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) and National Highways Authority
of India (NHAI), signed a MoU to solve the problem of shortage of sand faced by concessionaires working
on highways projects.
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• On 22nd December 2017, Russian State Corporation for Atomic Energy (Rosatom) Overseas and Sudan’s
Ministry of Water Resources, Irrigation and Electricity signed an agreement to build the first nuclear power
plant for electricity production in Khartoum, Sudan.
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

Name of Awards Award Winner Field Points to be noted
Global Sustainability Film "Lipstick Under My Film Directed by Alankrita
Awards 2017 Burkha" Shrivastava and stars Konkona
sensharma and Ratna Pathak Shah
Miss Supranational 2017 Miss Korea Jenny Kim She succeeds Srinidhi Shetty of
India as Miss Supranational
Foreign Policy Kamala Harris

magazine’s 2017 list of ‘50
Leading Global Thinkers’
Ballon d'Or for world Cristiano Ronaldo Football Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo
player of the year received fifth time from former
France player David Ginola
27th Vyas Samman Mamta Kalia Writing Chosen for her novel "Dukkham
Sukkham"
Atibadi Jagannath Das Rabi Singh Poet Odia poet has been named the
Samman winner of the instituted by the
Odisha Sahitya Akademi, for the
year 2017
Highest earning musician Diddy American

of 2017 businessman,
rapper, songwriter,
actor, record
producer, and
entrepreneur
FE Best Banks Awards State Bank of India (SBI) Best Nationalised
2015-16 Bank award
'Yeraringan' Award Prof .M.S. Swaminathan Agricultural For his innovation and research in
scientist the field of agriculture
Mother Teresa Memorial Actress Priyanka Chopra Social causes

award for social justice
2017
23rd Edition of the Annual i.Vidya Balan won the Excellence in
Star Screen Awards ‘Best Actress (Popular)’ Indian Film
Award for film ‘Tumhari industry
Sulu’.
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ii.Best Actor (Critics)

Award, went to Rajkumar
Rao for film ‘Newton’.
Highest-Paid Athlete of All Michael Jordan Athlete
Time
'Police Jeevan Gaurav Julio Ribeiro Police He was a former Director-General
Award' of Police of Punjab and Mumbai
Police Commissioner
Peter England Mr India Jitesh Singh Deo
2017
Moortidevi Award for the Bengali poet Joy Poet and scholar Honoured for his poetry collection
year 2017 Goswami named 'Du Dondo Phowara Matro'
National Design Award G Satheesh Reddy He is Scientific Advisor to the

Defence Minister
BBC Team of the Year England’s women cricket Sports

Award 2017 team
BBC overseas sports Roger Federer Award winners will
personality of the year be honoured during BBC Sports
Personality of the Year ceremony in
Liverpool
Golden Peacock Innovation Tata Steel’s Joda East Iron Honoured for driving innovation in
Management Award 2017 Mine (JEIM) mines
‘Miss India USA 2017’ Shree Saini
Seventh Australian Dangal Best asian film
Academy of Cinema and
Television Arts (AACTA)
Awards
Zee Cine Awards 2018 i.Best Actor (Male)- Excellence in Varun Dhawan for ‘Bhadrinath ki
Varun Dhawan Indian Film Dhulhania’
ii.Best Actor (Female) - industry Sridevi for ‘Mom’
Sridevi
iii. Best Director - Barelly ki Barfi
Ashwini Iyer Tiwary
iv. Best Film - Golmaal
Again
v. Global Icon Award -
Priyanka Chopra
Pichichi award and the Lionel Messi Sports
Alfredo Di Stefano award
2016 -2017
Sahitya Akademi award Mamang Dai and Ramesh Authors Mamang Dai for his novel, The
winners for 2017 Kuntal Megh Black Hill, in English and Ramesh
Kuntal Megh for his literary
criticism Vishw Mithak Sarit Sagar,
in Hindi
2017 NASSCOM-DSCI Cyber section of Kolkata All india security

excellence award Police
SKOCH Awards 2017 Telangana State Road
Transport Corporation
(TSRTC)
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2017 'Harivarasanam' Singer K S Chitra Kerala honour her contribution to

award spread the spirit of secularism,
equanimity and universal
brotherhood
’ Ethical Treatment of Actress Anushka Sharma Animal welfare She was named PETA's Hottest
Animals' (PETA) 2017 Vegetarian Celebrity in 2015.
Person of the Year
Mrs India-Pride of Nation Mayanka Patel and Were crowned contest in two
2017 Poonam Gaur different categories, in Gurgaon
Globe Soccer's Best Player Cristiano Ronaldo

award
Best Asian Film at the , in Dangal directed by Nitesh
Sydney. Kumar
Recognitions
• Taj is 2nd best UNESCO world heritage site: survey by TripAdvisor Cambodia's Angkor Wat in
the first position.
• KumbhMela was inscribed in this list at 12th session of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for the
Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held in Jeju, South Korea. KumbhMela is held in Allahabad,
Haridwar, Ujjain and Nasik Yoga and Nouroz were two latest inscriptions from India.Naples pizza twirling
also wins coveted UNESCO 'intangible' status.
• Time magazine named "The Silence Breakers" who have shared their stories about sexual assault and
harassment that triggered a national reckoning in the United States as Person of the Year
• In Geneva, Switzerland, Secretary-General of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild Fauna and Flora has given Certificate of Commendation to India’s Wildlife Crime Control Bureau
(WCCB) for its effort to combat illegal wildlife trade especially its ‘Operation Save Kurma’ to combat illegal
trade in live turtles and its parts from India to abroad.
• Aditya Puri, the Managing Director of HDFC Bank, is the only Indian on Fortune’s list at the 18th position.
Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, a Taiwan-born American entrepreneur and businessman, has topped the list.
• India’s Ajaita Shah has emerged as the Grand Champion in the catalyst pitch competition held by Global
Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) on the closing day of the Global Entrepreneurship
Summit (GES2017) held in Hyderabad.
• On 8th December 2017, President Ram Nath Kovind awarded Presidential Colours to the submarine arm of the
Indian Navy that is celebrating its golden jubilee at the headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) at
Vishakapatnam.
• On 11th December 2017,Six top diplomats, including India's Lakshmi Puri, have been felicitated with the
inaugural Diwali "Power of One" award at New York, for their contribution to help form a more perfect,
peaceful and secure world.
• Cricketer Virat Kohli has replaced actor Shah Rukh Khan as India's top-ranking celebrity brand according to
The 'Rise of the Millennials: India's Most Valuable Celebrity Brands' report for 2017 was published by Duff
& Phelps.
• The United Kingdom has scored the top spot in Forbes' rankings of best countries in the world for business in
2018 for the first time. India has been ranked 62nd on the list.
• Actor Salman Khan has been ranked number one on the sixth Forbes India Celebrity 100 List and topped for
the second consecutive year. Actor Priyanka Chopra is the only female celebrity to make the top 10 list. He
has earned Rs. 232.83 crore in total for the period considered.
• On 24th December 2017, Sudarsan Pattnaik, international sand artist, created the world's biggest sand Santa-
face with the message "world peace" at Puri beach, Odisha. The sand Santa face is 25 feet tall and 50 feet
wide. It is to be placed in the Limca Book of World Records.
• Writer Ramendra Kumar, was felicitated by the Writers and Publishers of Sri Lanka for his contribution to
children's literature, at a function held in Colombo, Sri Lanka. His book ‘Dilemma and other stories’ had also
been released during that event. This is his fourth book in Sinhala
22 | P a g e
APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS
National
Name Appointed as Entity Points to be noted
Jairam Thakur Chief Minister Himachal Pradesh
Narinder Batra president Indian Olympic Association He is an International
(IOA) Hockey Federation (FIH)
chief
Rahul Gandhi president Indian National Congress
Rahul Singh President National Restaurant
Association of India (NRAI)
Sarvesh Kumar Tiwari President Para-Sports Foundation (PSF) Appointed at the National
Award for Divyangjan
2017 at Vigyan Bhawan,
New Delhi.
Vinay Sahasrabuddhe President Indian Council of Cultural He replaces Lokesh
Relations (ICCR) Chandra.
K. Jeeva Sagar Ambassador of India Kuwait
M. Subbarayudu Ambassador of India Republic of Peru
Pradeep Kumar Gupta Ambassador of India Republic of Mali
Ranveer Singh Ambassador EPL (English Premier League)
Ravindra Jaiswal Ambassador of India Sudan
Deepak Parekh First Intl Ambassador
of UK
AzarA.H.Khan Ambassador of India to
Turkmenistan
Akshay Kumar Ambassador to promote
Govt’s flagship agri-
schemes
D K Sarraf Chairperson Petroleum and Natural Gas Former Chairman and
Regulatory Board (PNGRB) Managing Director of the
Oil and Natural Gas
Corporation (ONGC)
Dhirendra Pal Singh Chairperson University Grants Commission
(UGC
Prabhat Kumar Sinha Chairman and Northern Coalfields Limited
Managing Director
Saba Karim General Manager Board of Control for Cricket in Former India wicketkeeper-
India (BCCI) batsman
Uma Shankar Executive Director Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
Salil Parekh CEO Infosys He was a member of the
Group Executive Board at
Capgemini
Surya Prakash Chairman public broadcaster Prasar He was a Former journalist
Bharati and author
Umesh Dattatraya Salvi Acting Chairperson National Green Tribunal (NGT)
Abhay Director General Narcotics Control Bureau
(NCB)
Amardeep Singh Bhatia Director Serious Fraud Investigation
Office (SFIO)
Dr Samiran Panda Director National AIDS Research
Institute (NARI)
23 | P a g e
Gurbachan Singh Director General National Human Rights

Commission (NHRC)
Lieutenant General B S Director National Cadet Corps (NCC).
Sahrawat
M Malakondaiah Director General of Andhra Pradesh He replaces Nanduri
Police (DGP) Sambasiva Rao.
Motofumi Shitara Group chairman Yamaha Motor India group
Om Prakash Singh Director General of Uttar Pradesh He replaces Sulkhan Singh
Police (DGP)
R Hemalatha Director National Institute of Nutrition
(NIN), Hyderabad
Sunil Kumar Chourasia Director General of
Ordnance Factories
(DGOF) and
Chairman of
the Ordnance Factory
Board (OFB)
Anshu Prakash chief secretary New Delhi He replaced MM Kutty who
has been transferred to
Union Finance Ministry as
an additional secretary.
Chander Prakash and State Information Haryana, in Chandigarh
Arun Sangwan Commissioners
Dhammapiya new secretary general International Buddhist He was a Buddhist monk
Confederation (IBC). from Tripura
Lieutenant General D R command Indian Army’s Southern
Soni Command
Manisha Nanda Chief Secretary-cum- to Himachal Pradesh Chief
Principal Secretary Minister
Ms. Smita Nagaraj Member, Union Public
Service Commission
(UPSC)
N C Goel Chief Secretary Rajasthan He replaces Ashok Jain
Paul Antony Chief Secretary Kerala
Raffaele Bergamasco Performance Director India’s senior women boxing
Sumita Misra joint secretary Economic Advisory Council to
the Prime Minister, EAC-PM
Vineet Chowdhary Chief secretary Himachal government He replaces Vidya Charan
Pharka
International Appointments
Name Appointed as Entity Points to be noted
Andrej Babis Prime minister Czech
Constantino Vice President as Zimbabwe
Chiwenga
George Weah President Liberian
Mr.Sebastián Piñera President Chile
Prince Harry President African Parks
Uhuru Kenyatta President Kenya
Barney Harford Chief Operating Officer Uber Technologies
(COO)
24 | P a g e
Dominique Mineur Belgium Ambassador United Arab Emirates Become the first country appoints
a female ambassador Dominique
Mineur to Saudi Arabia
Ellie Goulding Global Goodwill UN Environment At Nairobi, Kenya.
Ambassador
Henrietta Fore Executive Director United Nations Childrens'
Fund (UNICEF).
Kumi Naidoo Secretary General Amnesty International
Michel Coulomb Head of sales Apple
Preet Didbal Mayor Yuba city in California First Sikh woman elected as
mayor in the United States (US)
Raj Shah key position in the Becoming the first Indian-
White House American to enjoy the privilege
Other Appointments and Resigns
• On December 1 2017, Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore had cleared that active sportspersons will
not be considered for the boxing's national observer position. Due to this, 35-year-old Olympic bronze-
medallist and five-time world champion MC Mary Kom has resigned as the national observer for Indian
boxing.
• On November 27, 2017, Pakistan’s Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Zahid Hamid tendered his
resignation to Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, following protests by hardline religious groups in
Pakistan.
• On 4th December 2017, Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, Justice Manjula Chellur, retired from
service. She was the first woman advocate in Bellary, and then, the first woman judge of the Karnataka High
Court..
• On 19th December 2017, Justice Swatanter Kumar, chief of National Green Tribunal (NGT) retired from the
post.He was appointed the NGT chairperson on December 20, 2012.
• On 20th December 2017, Justice assumed office as the of the National Green Tribunal (NGT).Justice Salvi has
replaced Justice Swatanter Kumar, who retired recently.
• Airtel Payments Bank Managing Director and CEO Shashi Arora has resigned from his position after Bharti
Airtel's eKYC licence suspension by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
• Union Finance Ministry has accepted Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI’s) request to have four
whole time members. Demand for fourth whole-time member was made to handle the increased workload
post merger of Forward Markets Commission (FMC) with SEBI in 2015.
RANKINGS/INDEXES
India in Rankings
Index/Report/Field Position Points to be noted
Speedtest Global Index of Nov. 2017 - 109 released by broadband speed measuring firm, Ookla
Mobile internet speed
Fixed broadband speed of Nov. 2017 76
Legatum Prosperity Index – 2017 100 India performed best on Governance and Economic
Quality & Norway topped
CARE Ratings reports of NPA levels 5 The report classified countries into four categories
Expedia Vacation Deprivation Report 5 Online survey conducted by Northstar Research Partners
2017 on behalf of Expedia, an international travel company
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Indian states or Cities in Rankings

State or City Index/Report/Field Position Points to be noted
Haryana Preliminary rankings of Ease of 1 Haryana scored 69 per cent.Followed by
Doing Business (EoDB) 2017 Telangana with 68.46 per cent.Final rankings will
be in January-February 2018
Delhi-NCR Cushman & Wakefield’s 'Office 84 Hong Kong topped with an annual cost of USD
Space 2017 27431 per workstation across the world
Delhi Expensive premium office 7 Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Bangkok are the top
location in the world three. Report released by JLL India
Other Index/Report in National & International News

• As per a report by United Nations, nearly 15.6 million people from India live overseas, thus making Indian
Diaspora, the largest in the world. In 2015, total number of international migrants was estimated at 243
million. With 15.6 million, Indians constituted 6% of this global figure.
• Madhya Pradesh passes bill giving death for rape of girls aged 12 or less.This bill is Madhya Pradesh State
Government’s response to National Crime Records Bureau’s (NCRB’s) latest report which revealed that
Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of rape cases in India.
• Brand Trust Report, India Study 2017 has ranked Patanjali as India's most trusted Fast Moving Consumer
Goods (FMCG) brand. The study was conducted on 11,000 brands in 16 cities of India.
• As per data compiled by Bank of Thailand, , India has the highest unemployment rate among Asian countries,
at 8%. Thailand with 1.3% employment has ranked much better as compared to its Asian peers.
• According to World Inequality Report 2018 released by World Inequality Lab, deregulation and related
economic reforms since 1980s inequality in India increased to such an extent that top 0.1% of earners have
captured more growth than all those in the bottom 50% combined.
• On December 16, 2017, World Health Organization (WHO) declared Gabon as a "polio-free country" was
based on the facts that no new cases of polio have been reported from Gabon in recent times. Currently polio
is endemic, only in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
• On November 30, 2017, Union Home Minister released ‘Crime in India – 2016’ published by the National
Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Murder cases across India decreased by 5.2% 30450 cases in 2016 from
2015-16. Uttar Pradesh accounted for 9.5% of total IPC crimes reported in India.
• As per data presented in International Labour Organization’s (ILO’s) World Social Protection Report 2017-
19, only 45 per cent of the global population is effectively covered by at least one social benefit.
• Global Education Monitoring Report 2017-18 supported by United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO), released on December 4, 2017, expresses concern over school textbooks in
many countries glorifying war and military heroes rather than teaching peace and non-violence.
Conference/Summit in National & International News

No. Name of Summit/Conference Place Facts about the summit /conference
1 World Trade Organisation’s (WTO's) Buenos Aires, Union Commerce and Industry Minister,
11th Ministerial Conference (MC11) Argentina Suresh Prabhu attended for India
2 Centenary conference of the Indian Guntur, Andhra Theme was ‘India’s Development
Economic Association Pradesh Experience’ .President Ram Nath Govind
Inaugurated
3 Regional Conference on Governance and Guwahati, Assam
Replication of Best Practices
4 Global Entrepreneurship Summit – 2017 Hyderabad 3 initiatives for women entrepreneurs
,Telengana including setting up ‘We-Hub’ on the lines
of T-Hub and also to create Rs 15 crore
fund.
5 World Conference on Vedas, “Vishwa Indira Gandhi Vice-President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu
Ved Sammelan” National Centre for inaugurated the World Conference on Vedas
Arts (IGNCA) in
New Delhi
6 International conference on climate Kathmandu, Nepal V K Saraswat is leading the Indian
change delegation
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7 World Telugu Conference (WTC) Lal Bahadur Vice President M.Venkaiah Naidu
Stadium, Hyderabad inaugurated the five-day World Telugu
at Telengana Conference (WTC)
8 Second UNWTO/UNESCO World Muscat, Oman United Nations has declared 2017 as the
Conference on Tourism and Culture International Year of Sustainable Tourism
for Development.
9 Hindustan Times Leadership Summit New Delhi Inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi with the
(HTLS) 2017 theme “The Irreversible Rise of India”
10 Shared Value Summit 2017 New Delhi Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Industry and
Commerce, chief guest with theme -“Equity
and Empowerment”
11 49th Annual Conference of the Society of New Delhi Subhash Ramrao Bhamre, Minister of State
Nuclear Medicine for Defence inaugurated the conference
First SAICON 2017, an International New Delhi Theme -‘Scoring Goals in Sports with
Conference on Sports Medicine & Sports Science and Technology’
Sciences
12 11th Annual MedTech Summit New Delhi to develop innovative and affordable
medical devices as per unmet clinical needs
of India
13 Association of Southeast Asian Nations New Delhi Theme - Powering Digital and Physical
(ASEAN) – India Connectivity Summit Linkages for Asia in the 21st Century’.
(AICS)
14 14th Inclusive Finance India Summit New Delhi A book 'Talking financial inclusion in
liberalized India: Conversations with
Governors of the RBI', edited by Prof. MS
Sriram was released
15 Global Partnership Summit (GPS) 2017 New Delhi to bring about socio-economic development
in India
16 International conference on Ground water New Delhi Theme - “Ground water Vision 2030- Water
2017 Security, Challenges and Climate Change
Adaptation”.
17 First International exhibition and New Delhi Theme -‘Enhancing the global potential of
Conference on AYUSH -‘AROGYA Ayush’.
2017’
18 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Sochi,Russia Union External Affairs Minister, Sushma
(SCO) summit 2017 Swaraj attended
Other Summits & Conference

• On December 26, 2017, a team of Indian Air Force (IAF) mountaineers successfully scaled Mt Vinson in
Antarctica and thereby completed ‘Mission Seven Summits’, a series of mountaineering expedition to fly the
Indian tricolour and the IAF flag on the highest peaks in every continent.
• On 22nd December 2017, The UN General Assembly has planned to mark the 100th anniversary of Nelson
Mandela's birthday ,a high-level meeting with a resolution was adopted in regard with the "Nelson Mandela
Peace Summit"on world peace.
Committee/Meeting in National & International News

Committee Head person place Purpose
28th meeting of the Central Union Ministry of Housing New Delhi Approved the construction of
Sanctioning and Monitoring and Urban Affairs (HUA) additional 1.12 lakh
Committee (CSMC), New Delhi affordable houses for urban
poor under the Pradhan
Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban)
PMAY (U).
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National Commission for Minorities NCM vice-chairman George New Delhi To look into a petition filed
(NCM) ,New Delhi Kurien by BJP activist Aswini
Upadhyay for granting
minority status to Hindus in
eight states .
National Green Tribunal committee NGT Chairperson Justice New Delhi To inspect over 1700 hotels,
lodges and home stay
accommodations in Kullu
and Manali towns of
Himachal Pradesh.
Cow Protection Committees Uttar Pradesh government Uttar Pradesh To make sure that cow sheds
(gaushalas) are operated
efficiently in all districts.
24-member Select Committee of the Vinay P Sahasrabuddhe New Delhi Has recommended body
Rajya Sabha wearable cameras for traffic
policemen and Regional
Transport Offices (rtos)
officials enforcing the Motor
Vehicles Act
five-member committee for S K Dhramadhikari To invite fresh bids
technical and safety standards of incorporating strictest safety
India’s pod taxi scheme standards on the lines of
those prescribed by an
American body.
Inter-ministerial committee - Rajyavardhan Rathore To look into complaints of
Electronic Media Monitoring Centre violation of programme and
(EMMC) advertising codes by TV
channels.
Other committees
• Central Government has decided to set up a multi- disciplinary committee of experts for consultation on
matters pertaining to the implementation of Drug Price Control Order (DPCO), including technical issues
related to pricing and launch of new drugs.
• Indian Railways has formed a six-member committee to review the flexi-fare system in premium trains.The
committee comprises Ravinder Goyal, Adviser in Niti Ayog, Meenakshi Malik, Executive Director for
Revenue Management in Air India; Iti Mani, Director for Revenue, at Le Meridien, Delhi, S Sriram, Professor
of transport economics and railway board officials.
• A Committee forms chaired by the Secretary (Coordination) in the Cabinet Secretariat to examine complaints
filed against Chairman and Managing Directors (CMDs), chief executives, directors of public sector
enterprises, public sector banks, insurance companies and financial institutions.
• On 11th and 12th December 2017, the 54th meeting of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
(SAARC) programming committee was held at the Kathmandu-based SAARC Secretariat, Nepal. It focused
on budget issues of the SAARC Secretariat.
• India has been selected as Chair for the Ad Hoc Committee on Review & Reforms (AHCRR) to reform the
Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) besides , Angola will be the Vice Chair of this Committee.
Meetings in National & International News

• On 4thDecember 2017, Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district was included in the National Capital Region (NCR),
taking the total number of districts in the NCR to 23. The decision was taken at the 37th meeting of the
National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) held in New Delhi.
• On December 11, 2017,15th trilateral meeting of the Russia-India-China (RIC) foreign ministers such as
Union External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov and China’s
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi was held in New Delh.
India will host the 3rd annual meeting of the Board of Governors of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
(AIIB) in Mumbai from 25th – 26th June, 2018. . Theme of this meeting will be 'Mobilizing Finance for
Infrastructure: Innovation and Collaboration’.
• On 13thDecember 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Federation of Indian Chambers of
Commerce and Industry (FICCI) 90th Annual General Meeting at the Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi with the
28 | P a g e
theme ‘Indian Business in a New India’. Rashesh Shah, the Chairman & CEO of Edelweiss Group took charge
as FICCI President.
• On December 16, 2017 , 24th Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council Meeting was held under the
chairmanship of Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley through video conferencing.
• On 19thDecember 2017, Suresh Prabhu, Commerce and Industry Minister, announced that India will host a
mini-ministerial meeting of 40 WTO (World Trade Organisation) members in February 2018. The 11th WTO
meet collapsed recently in Buenos Aires. It ended without any ministerial declaration or outcome.
• On 20thDecember 2017, the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) held its 3rd
meeting under the chairmanship of Dr Bibek Debroy, Chairman of EAC-PM & Member of NITI Aayog in
New Delhi.
• On December 23, 2017, Meeting of India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic,
Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) was held in New Delhi.
• Eighteenth Meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) was held in New Delhi on
December 29, 2017 under the Chairmanship of the Union Minister of Finance, Arun Jaitley. The meeting
focused on pre-Budget 2018-19 consultations with the heads of financial sector regulators.
• Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari stated that Government has
sanctioned Rs 1250 crore for overall development of inland water transport of Assam at a meeting of the
Brahmaputra Board and Water Resources Department at Kaziranga.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the first Indian Prime Minister in past 20 years to attend the annual
meeting of World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos, Switzerland. HD Deve Gowda was the last Indian Prime
Minister to attend this event in 1997.
• 22nd meeting of Board of Mangement (BOM) of Small Farmers’ Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC)was held
in New Delhi under the chairmanship of Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Radha Mohan
Singh.
• On 4thDecember 2017, the first meeting of Fifteenth Finance Commission was held at North Block in New
Delhi. . The Meeting was held under the Chairmanship of K. Singh. The Fifteenth Finance
Commission was constituted on 27th of November 2017.
ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS
• On 4thDecember 2017, Bharti Airtel said, it has acquired a strategic stake in Juggernaut Books.
The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
• Apple has confirmed that it is acquiring popular music recognition app Shazam for a sum of nearly
$400 million beating Snapchat and Spotify.
• The Walt Disney Co. has set a $52.4 billion, all-stock deal to acquire 20th Century Fox and other
entertainment and sports assets from Rupert Murdoch’s empire. The deal values the 21st Century
Fox assets in the transaction at $66.1 billion, including $13.7 billion in 21st Century Fox debt, or $28
a share.
• On 15thDecember 2017, State Bank of India said the Carlyle Group has completed the acquisition of
GE Capitals entire 26 per cent stake in SBI Card. SBI Card is operated through two joint ventures -
SBI Cards & Payment Services and GE Capital Business Process Management Services.
• On December 15, 2017, Direct-to-home (DTH) operator Dish TV India Ltd (owned by Zee Group)
announced that the company has received the final approval from Union Information and
Broadcasting Ministry for completing its merger with Videocon d2h, the DTH arm of Videocon
Industries Ltd. The new merged entity will be called Dish TV Videocon Limited.
• Bharti Airtel made an agreement with international telecom company, Millicom International
Cellular ’s subsidiary Tigo Rwanda Limited for acquiring 100% stake.Stake in Tigo Rwanda Limited
is to be acquired by Airtel Rwanda Ltd.
• Ola, run by ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd has acquiredonline food delivery firm Foodpanda
India from its German parent Delivery Hero AG in an all-stock deal. Ola would invest $200 million
into Foodpanda India.
• Housing Development Financial Corporation (HDFC) has sold its realty brokerage business ‘HDFC
Realty’ and its digital real estate business ‘HDFC Red’ (owned by HDFC Developers) to online
advertisements platform Quikr.
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• On 20thDecember 2017, the Edelweiss Group announced its acquisition of Religare Enterprises Ltd’s
securities business, including securities and commodities broking, and depository participant
services.
• Amazon has acquired a startup named Blink that builds wireless home security systems.Blink’s
home security cameras were first introduced in 2016.
• Bank of Baroda made an agreement with Italian bank UniCredit S.p.A. to acquire its 51 per cent
stake in Baroda Pioneer Asset Management Company. Owing to this agreement, Bank of Baroda’s
stake in Baroda Pioneer Asset Management Company has increased to 100 per cent and Pioneer
Investments (owned by UniCredit) has thus exited the venture.
DEFENCE
• On December 14, 2017 In Mumbai, Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned INS Kalvari submarine
(first of the six Scorpene-class submarines )into the Indian Navy.
• On 22ndDecember 2017, Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM), a canister-based high-speed
weapon system was successfully test fired by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from
Chandipur, in Odisha.
• On 28thDecember 2017, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully test fired an
Advanced Area Defence (AAD) interceptor missile from defence test facility on Kalam Island, Odisha.
• 'Operation Synergy,' a joint rescue mission by the Navy, the Air Force, Coast Guard and states fisheries
department has so far rescued 252 fishermen stranded in the seas after cyclone Ockhi, in Kerala.
• The Rajasthan Cabinet has decided to accord monthly pension of Rs 12,000 and a monthly allowance of Rs
1,200 under the scheme name Rajasthan Loktantra Senani Samman Nidhi for those detained under the
Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) and Defence of India Rules (DIR) during Emergency period
1975-77 outside the state, the status of ‘fighters for democracy’.
• India and Australia held their inaugural 2+2 Foreign Secretaries and Defence Secretaries Dialogue on
December 12, 2107 in New Delhi to boost bilateral strategic and defence ties.
• Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri passed
Immovable Property (Amendment) Bill to amend regulations pertaining to compensation payable for
acquisition of immovable property by the Centre for defence and security purposes.
Exercises
• Indian Coast Guard (ICG) conducted regional level Marine Oil Pollution Response Exercise titled ‘Clean Sea
– 2017’ at sea off Port Blair, Andaman Nicobar Islands under observation of Coast Guard Regional
Commander, KR Suresh.
• On December 1, 2017, Third Indo-United Kingdom (UK) joint military exercise 'Ajeya Warrior 2017' begun
at Mahajan Field Firing Ranges, Bikaner, Rajasthan and it will conclude on December 14, 2017.
• On December 15, 2017, India and Maldives commenced their 8th joint military exercise "EKUVERIN" in
Belagavi, Karnataka.
• Indian Army’s Southern Command is conducting an exercise called 'Hamesha Vijayee' in Jaisalmer-Barmer
deserts of Rajasthanfrom 16th – 22nd December, 2017 with an objective to evaluate the capability and
preparedness of Indian armed forces to carry out strikes deep into enemy territory in an integrated air-land
battle.
• National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) conducted a State-level mock exercise in collaboration
with the Haryana State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) on earthquake in Haryana.
• On 5thDecember 2017, the two-week United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States and France joint
army training exercise “Flag4”, started in Abu Dhabi.
• On 17thDecember 2017, the 11th edition of 'Naseem Al Bahr' or 'Sea Breeze' a biennial exercise was
conducted off the coast of Oman. Indian Naval ships - INS Trikand and INS Teg participated in the
exercise. P8I – a versatile, long-range maritime aircraft also participated from Indian Navy.
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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Mobile Apps/Portal Launched by Purpose

‘Datally’ App Google To understand,control and save users mobile
data themselves. Datally app will enable users
to track their data usage in real time
‘Files Go’ Google To freeing up space, finding files faster and

easily sharing them with others, even when
offline
‘MSME Sambandh’ Giriraj Singh, Minister of State Enable the ease of doing business and ‘Make in
(http://msefc.msme.gov.in) (Independent Charge) for MSME India’ initiatives of the Government of India
(Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium
Enterprises)
http://ireps.gov.in - Indian Ministry of Railways Online bill tracking system for
Railways E-Procurement vendors/contractors of goods and services
System (IREPS)
'Urban Genie' -Android Telangana government Help citizens in urban areas to find trained and
mobile app certified technicians and workers, who will
provide household services.
“R-MITRA” (Railway Eastern Railway For security of passengers, especially women,

Mobile Instant Tracking in Kolkata and suburban areas of Eastern
Response & Assistance) Railway Zone
Other Science & Technology news

• US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has stated that a set of thrusters aboard the
Voyager 1 spacecraft have been successfully fired up after 37 years without use. NASA will now be able to
extend the life of the Voyager 1 spacecraft by two to three years.
• India successfully test fires surface-to-air Akash missile in Odisha. The target for this test was an unmanned
aerial vehicle (UAV) 'Banshee'. It has a strike range of about 25 km
• The world's biggest lithium-ion battery has been plugged into an Australian state grid, delivered by Tesla Inc.
It is installed near Adelaide.
• India's 'first' mobile food testing laboratory, which will enable on-the-spot food safety tests to be conducted in
Goa, would be launched by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikaron 10th December 2017.
• On 13thDecember 2017, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai's ruler, launched the United Arab
Emirates' (UAE) first space programme aimed at sending four Emirati astronauts to the International Space
Station within 5 years.
• A unit of China Three Gorges Corporationis building a $151 million floating solar power plant, the world’s
biggest, in the nation’s eastern province of Anhui, China.India has recently commissioned its largest floating
solar power plant in Wayanad,
• Sivan, Director of ISRO’s rocket development node, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre said, preliminary work to
design and develop a small launch vehicle began about three months ago. Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre has
designed the vehicle using the rocket technology that is awaiting ISRO’s approval.
• On 10thDecember 2017, China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC) launched Algeria’s first
telecommunications satellite, Alcomsat-1, aboard a Long March 3B rocket. The 5,225-kilogram
satellite carries a 33-transponder payload comprised of 19 in Ku-band, 12 in Ka-band and two in L-band.
• Ministry of Railways has introduced online bill tracking system, Indian Railways E-Procurement System
(IREPS) for vendors and contractors. The bill tracking facility is available to the and details are available on
http://ireps.gov.in.
• On 13thDecember 2017, ‘Google AI China Center’ ,a google’s first lab in Asia was launched by Fei-Fei Li,
Google Cloud’s Chief Scientist, at the Google Developer Days event in Shanghai,
• On 13thDecember 2017, after Hyderabad, ACT Fibernet has now launched the 1Gbps wired broadband
internet service in ACT Fibernet is introducing curated broadband plans for retail and Small Medium
Enterpris(SME)) customers under this service.
• SpaceX has launched a used spacecraft with a used rocket for the first time ever. It launched 2 pre-flown
rocket parts together for the first time, a used Dragon spacecraft riding on top of a used Falcon 9 rocket.
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• On 16th December 2017, Google announced the shutting down of its high-end smartphone Augmented Reality
(AR) platform, Google wants to shift focus to its mass market product, ARCore. Tango support will stop
on March 1, 2018.
• US-based National High Magnetic Field Laboratoryhas successfully tested the world's strongest
superconducting magnet ‘32 T’, producing 32 teslas (a unit of magnetic field strength), 33% stronger than the
previous record.
• Phasing out ceremony of MI-8 “PRATAP” helicopter was held at the Air Force Station, Yelahanka in
Bengaluru on December 17, 2017. The ceremony was attended by several Indian Air Force (IAF) veterans.
• A new LIGO Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory gravitational wave detector will be built
in India by 2025 in collaboration with universities from across the world. This will be the world's third LIGO
detector, along with two already operational in the US.
• A new species of scorpion named "Liocheles schalleri" has been discovered in Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary,
Tripura. It is also called dwarf scorpions and named after famous wildlife biologist George Schaller.
• On 24th December 2017, China successfully conducted the first flight of its first indigenous amphibious
aircraft ‘AG600’(code named Kunlong), in southern Guangdong Province, China. It was
launched from the Jinwan Civil Aviation Airport in Zhuhai, Guangdong.
• On December 25, 2017, Union Minister of State for PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions launched
electronic-Human Resource Management System (e-HRMS) that provides a comprehensive and combined
view of the human resource deployed by the Government.
• On 26thDecember 2017, China successfully launched remote sensing satellites for conducting electromagnetic
environmental probes from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest Sichuan Province. The remote
sensing satellites were launched on a Long March-2C carrier rocket.
• On 26thDecember 2017, Russia launched Zenit-2SB rocket carrying Angosat-1, the first national telecoms
satellite for Angola, from Baikonur space pad, in Kazakhstan.
• On 27th December 2017, Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, Radha Mohan Singh released the
Livestock Disease Forewarning – Mobile Application (LDF-Mobile App) for Monthly Bulletin system to send
out early warning.This app was developed by ICAR-National Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and
Disease Informatics (ICAR-NIVEDI).
• A new species of blind fish "Schistura larketensis" has been discovered in East Jaintia Hills district of
Meghalaya.The research has been published in the journal Zootaxa.
• NASA has scheduled to launch the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) in the middle of 2020.
WFIRST has a 300-megapixel Wide Field Instrument. This will capture the sky area 100 times larger than the
previous Hubble telescope.
• On 29thDecember 2017, ISRO said that, it will launch 31 satellites in a single mission on-board its Polar
rocket on 10th January 2018. This mission will be the first ‘Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle’ (PSLV) mission
after the failure of IRNSS-1H launch in August 2017.
• NASA's flying observatory is developing its 2018 observing campaign to observe celestial magnetic fields,
star-forming regions, comets and Saturn's giant moon Titan. This is a joint project of NASA and DLR,
German Aerospace Center. Sofia is a modified Boeing 747SP jetliner which carries a 100-inch diameter
telescope.
• On December 29, 2017, H-BOTS, a Hyderabad-based artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning start-
up unveiled a prototype of a smart policing robot.It can take complaints, monitor temperature, identify
suspects, can record audio and video clips and can assist people at malls, streets, airports and railway stations.
• On December 28, 2017, Indian Air Force (IAF) bade farewell to Russian origin MiG-27 ML, codenamed
'Bahadur' in India, at Hasimara Air Force base in
ENVIRONMENT
• A team of Brazilian and Chinese paleontologists have announced the discovery of about 300 fossilized eggs
and skeletons of pterosaurs. The fossils, some of them of embryos with the bones preserved in three
dimensions, were found in 2015-2016 in the northeastern Chinese region of Hami.
• On December 1, 2017, Cyclone Ockhi, originating near Sri Lanka over the Bay of Bengal, moved over the
Arabian sea through Kanyakumari triggering heavy rains and high speed wind in Lakshadweep islands.
• The world’s heaviest bony fish ever caught weighing 2,300 kilograms has been identified by Japanese
experts.The fish is a Molaalexandrini bump-head sunfish, according to researchers from Hiroshima University
• Australian scientists have discovered a new species of marsupial lion named Wakaleo schouteni which has
been stalked Australia’s abundant rainforests 18 to 26 million years ago .
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• Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP)has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the
C40 cities network to work together to tackle air pollution.
• Researchers from University of California and University of Illinoishave proven the existence of new form of
matter called Excitonium is made up of excitons and exhibits macroscopic quantum phenomena just like a
superconductor.
• Alappuzha, a coastal city of Kerala, has been listed in a United Nations (UN) report of 5 global cities that
have successfully tackled solid waste management along with cities like Osakain Japan, Ljubljana in
Slovenia, Penang in Malaysia and Cajica in Colombia.
• Cartographers surveying Antarctica have discovered that Mt Hopeis the tallest mountain in the British
Antarctic Territory (BAT) at 3,239 metres above sea level. However, Mt Vinson remains the highest mountain
in Antarctica standing at 4,892 metres.
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) engineers used an enzyme called luciferase which helps to
create bioluminescent trees that glow like fireflies.
• On 14thDecember 2017, NASA revealed the discovery of Kepler-90i planet which is the eighth planet
discovered in the Kepler-90 system using a Google neural network trained to identify planets from the NASA
Kepler space telescope's data.It is a sun-like star located around 2,545 light-years from us.
• For the first time, Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has compiled a list of 157 alien invasive animal species
which pose a threat to biodiversity and human well-being. This conference was organised by the ZSI and the
Botanical Survey of India (BSI).
• On December 21, 2017, Director General of Indian Coast Guard, Rajendra Singh commissioned Indian Coast
Guard Ship (ICGS) ‘Sujay’ in Goa. ICGS ‘Sujay’ is an Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) that has been designed
and built indigenously by Goa Shipyard Ltd.
• On 21stDecember 2017, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh launched PUDA-UCIC app to check
unauthorised construction and a new web portal of the housing department for online issue of change of land
use.
• Typhoon Tembin has devastated southern Philippines and has killed more than 120 people with 160 missing.
Typhoon Tembin caused a series of flash flooding and landslides in southern Philippines.
• Researchers have discovered a new water-adapted species of spiders named ‘Desis bobmarleyi’ in
Queensland, Australia. This research has been published inthe journal Evolutionary Systematics.
• Two new ant species Tetramorium krishnaniand Tetramorium jarawa have been discovered by scientists in the
islands of Andaman. The Tetramorium krishnani and Tetramorium jarawa ant species were discovered by
scientists of the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS).
SPORTS
Sports/Tournament/title Winner Points to be noted

The Best Boxer title’ in AIBA World Youth Ankushita Boro Ankushita Boro won the fifth gold in the
Women’s Boxing Championship 64kg final.
IBSF World Snooker Championship Indian cueist Pankaj He grabbed the title at Al-Arabi Sports
Advani Club in Doha,Qatar
Asian Luge Championships Shiva Keshavan India's veteran Winter Olympian
World Weightlifting Championship Saikhom Mirabai from Manipur became the first Indian in
Chanu over two decades to win a gold medal
World Para Swimming Championship Kanchanmala Pande Nagpur's visually challenged swimmer
became the first Indian to win the gold
medal
International Tennis Federation (ITF) world Spaniards Rafael Nadal
champions and Garbine Muguruza
Hockey World League 2016-17 Australia India has won bronze medal
FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2017 Real Madrid
World Badminton Superseries Finals 2017 Japan’s Akane PV Sindhu won silver medal
Yamaguchi
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Commonwealth Wrestling Championships in Sushil Kumar

74kg
Commonwealth Wrestling Championships in Sakshi Malik
62kg
Junior National Badminton Championships Aakarshi Kashyap He won both Under-17 and Under-19
singles
Best boxer of Galym Zharylgapov Tournament Naman Tanwar
World Rapid Championship (WRC) in Chess Viswanathan Anand
World Blitz Chess Championship Magnus Carlsen Viswanathan Anand has won bronze
medal
ICC Intercontinental Cup champions Afghanistan
South Asian Regional Badminton Team India India bagged its first-ever South Asian
Championship Regional Badminton Team
Championship
Other sports news

• On Decmber 2017 ,The third edition of the men’s Hockey World League Final kicked off in style at Kalinga
Stadium in Bhubaneswar.Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the event.
• On December 1 2017, Indian archers bagged three gold, four silver and two bronze medals at the Asian
Championships. Abhishek Verma hold three medals. Indian women Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Trisha Deb and
Parveena won the gold medal. Surekha bagged the individual women’s bronze medal.
• On 3rd December 2017, Virat Kohli became the first player to score six double centuries as captain. Virat
Kohli scored 200 off 238 balls on the second day of the ongoing Test against Sri Lanka at the Ferozshah Kotla
stadium. This record of six double centuries is a first as a captain.
• On 3rd December 2017, Deepika Kumari won a bronze medal at the Indoor Archery World Cup at Bangkok,
Deepika won the bronze medal. This is the only medal India won at the Indoor Archery World Cup 2017.
• On 3rd December 2017, India finished seventh overall in the WSF (World Squash Federation) Men's World
Team Squash Championships 2017 in Marseille, France. The Egyptian team won the championship.
• Prithvi Shaw has been named captain of the 15-member Indian squad for the 2018 Under-19 World Cup to be
held in New Zealand from January 13, 2018.
• Yuvraj launched the "Power of Sports to Shape the Future of Adolescents" campaign in South Asia in
Colombo. The event was jointly organised by UNICEF South Asia and the ICC.
• Russia banned from 2018 Winter Olympics over state-sponsored doping programme.The IOC has also banned
Russia's Deputy Prime Minister VitalyMutko
• Double Olympic medalist Sushil Kumar has quit his role as a National Sports Observer for wrestling because
active sportspersons will not be considered for the position
• Afghanistan cricket team spinner MujeebZadran has become the first 21st century born male cricketer to play
international cricket
• Gurdeep Singh created three new senior national records in +105kg weight category in the IWF (International
Weightlifting Federation) World Weightlifting Championships 2017 at Anaheim in USA.
• FIFA banned Kuwait's national football federation in 2015.Now FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced
here that a two-year ban imposed on Kuwait's football federation has officially been lifted.
• The 46th Congress of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) will be held in New Delhi from October 30
to November 3, 2018. The biennial event will run for four days. It will comprise meetings, social events,
networking opportunities and presentations.
• Indian shooters bagged five medals on the opening day of the 10th Asian Airgun Shooting Championships
which is being held in Wako City, Japan.In men, ‘Ravi Kumar won an individual bronze’, ‘Ravi Kumar,
Gagan Narang and Deepak Kumar won Team Silver’, ‘Arjun Babuta won individual silver’ ,’ Arjun Babuta,
Krishna Prasad Tejas and Sunmoon Singh Brar won Team Silver’.In women Anjum Moudgil, Pooja Ghatkar
and Meghana Sajjanar, won Team Silver
• On 8th December 2017, Chandika Hathurusingha was appointed as Sri Lanka cricket team head coach with
effect from December 20, 2017.
• On 9th December 2017, Aryan Goveas and Arjun Kadhe won the doubles title in the $15,000 ITF
(International Tennis Federation) Futures tennis tournament, in Cairo, Egypt.
• India is to host its first-ever major boxing tournament for elite men and women, ‘India Open International
Boxing Tournament’, January 28 to February 1, 2018 in New Delhi.
34 | P a g e
• Jitu Rai and Heena Sidhu bagged a individual bronze medal each at the 10th Asian Championship in Wako
City, Japan.
• The Indian diving team won 6 medals (1 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medal) in “Road to Asian Games 2018”
Indonesia Open Aquatic Championship 2017 held at Jakarta from December 5 to 9, 2017.
• The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced to host Afghanistan for their first-ever Test
match will be held in the upcoming home season (2018-19).
• On 11th December 2017, Shubhankar Sharma of India won the Joburg Open golf tournament to qualify for
2018 edition of the British Open.
• On 9th December 2017, Mehuli Ghosh and Tushar Mane became the first Indian shooters to secure the
women's and men's quota places for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games (YOG).
• On 11th December 2017, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to lift the ban on the
Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) provided former IPL Chief Lalit Modi stays away from its functioning.
• On 13th December 2017, Rohit Sharma hit his third double hundred in ODI cricket by 208 runs in the second
ODI against Sri Lanka in Mohali. . Rohit Sharma is the first batsman who has scored three double centuries in
ODIs
• On 11th December 2017, the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed in its Special General
Meeting (SGM) that India will host the One Day International World Cup in 2023 and the Champions Trophy
in 2021. . This will be the first time India would be hosting an ODI World Cup completely.
• On 13th December 2017, world youth champion Sachin Siwach was named the Asian Boxing Confederation’s
best youth boxer of the year 2017. India also fetched the Best Asian International Technical Official (ITO)
award with Lenny D'Gama winning the online poll.
• On 15th December 2017, the emblems of the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games,
respectively named "Winter Dream" and "Flight," were unveiled at the National Aquatic Center, Beijing,
China.
• On 15th December 2017, the first ever International Wheelchair Cricket Tournament was organised in
Kathmandu, Nepal. It has participation of teams from Nepal, India and Bangladesh.
• Indian Junior Girls have claimed four gold, three silver and a bronze medal at the Valeria Demyanova
Memorial International Boxing Tournament in Ukraine. Arundhati Choudhury won a gold medal in the 60
kg , Raj Sahiba won gold medal in the 70 kg ,
and Mitika Sanjay won gold medal in the 66 kg
• On 16th December 2017, India won 10 gold and 10 silver medals on the first day of the Commonwealth
Wrestling Championship in South Africa’s Johannesburg.
• On 16th December 2017, Spain’s Georgina Garcia-Perez won the singles title in the NECC-ITF women’s
tennis championship in Pune. Georgina has become the first Spaniard to win the ITF title in Pune.
• Francois Gabart, a French sailor, has broken the record for sailing around the world alone by
circumnavigating the world in 42 days and 16 hours which is more than 6 days faster than the previous
record, created by France’s Thomas Coville in 2016.
• On 17th December 2017, former Brazilian World Cup champion Ricardo Kaka made the announcement of his
retirement as a football player.
• On 17th December 2017, won gold medals at the in Johannesburg, South Africa.
• On 18th December 2017, International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced a life ban for Russia’s Alexey
Voevoda from the Olympics for anti-doping violations in the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. Two gold medals in
the two-man and four-man bobsled events were cancelled.
• Indian junior boxers won 6 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze medals and finished overall champions at the fifth
International Sven Lange Memorial Tournament, Schwerin, Germany. The Indian team won the ‘Best
Team’ of the tournament award. Also, Bhavesh Kattamani (52kg) who won a gold medal, was awarded
the ‘best boxer trophy’.
• Kerala Kings became the first-ever T10 Cricket League champion at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, in Sharjah,
United Arab Emirates.
• On 19th December 2017, India defeated Nepal in the ongoing SAFF U-15 Women's Championship at Dhaka,
Bangladesh.
• The 9th edition of International Youth Sailing Competition of India is held in Krishnapatnam Port in Nellore,
Andhra Pradesh, from December 27th to December 31st 2017. This is the largest sailing competition in India
• On 21st December 2017, Louise Martin, president of the Commonwealth Games Federation announced
Birmingham as host city of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
35 | P a g e
• Indian women cricketers Ekta Bisht, Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur have been selected to the ICC
Women's team of the year 2018.
• On 20th December 2017, India's Raghu Prasad and Javed Shaikh were selected in the panel of umpires for
2018 Hockey World Cup to be held in Bhubaneswar, from November 28 to December 16, 2018.
• On 20th December 2017, India's Raghu Prasad and Javed Shaikh were selected in the panel of umpires for
2018 Hockey World Cup to be held in Bhubaneswar, from November 28 to December 16, 2018.
• On 21st December 2017, it was announced that shooting has been excluded from the 2022 edition of
Commonwealth Games. Shooting is listed in Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF)’s optional sports
• On 23rd December 2017, Vijender Singh defeated Ernest Amuzu at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur for
the show ‘Rajasthan Rumble’ and retained his WBO Oriental and Asia Pacific super middleweight titles. . He
is currently ranked 6th in the WBO rankings.
• On 24th December 2017, India lost against Bangladesh in the final and became runners-up of the SAFF U15
Women's Championship in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
• On 23rd December 2017, Sushil Kumar became the most expensive wrestler of the PWL (Pro Wrestling
League) in New Delhi.Delhi Sultans bought Sushil Kumar for Rs 55 lakh at the PWL auctions.
• On 24th December 2017, Indian boxers won 3 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze medal at the Galym Zharylgapov
Boxing Tournament in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. Naman Tanwar was named of the tournament.
• On 26th December 2017, Saudi Arabia hosted a world chess tournament for the first time at the APEX
Convention Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The tournament is called the King Salman World Rapid and Blitz
Chess Championships.
• On 27th December 2017, Anisa Sayyed won the women’s 25m pistol gold with a new national record at
the 61st National Shooting Championship Competitions (NSCC), in Trivandrum, Kerala.
• South Africa won over Zimbabwe on the second day of the first four-day test cricket match by an innings and
20 runs at St George's Park, in South Africa.
• On 27th December 2017, the Association of Indian Football Coaches (AIFC) was launched at the Andheri
Sports Complex, in Mumbai to create a platform for the development of football coaches and their welfare..
• On 28th December 2017, Kavitha Bharanidaran broke Guinness World Record in yoga marathon by
performing yoga on 23rdDecember 2017 at 7 am and finished at 02:02 am on 28th December 2017. She has
broken the record that was created by Pradnya Patil of Nashik
• On 29th December 2017, Jitu Rai won gold medal in the men's 50m pistol event at the 61st National Shooting
Championship at National Games Shooting Range, Thiruvananthapuram, in Kerala.
OBITUARY
Name of the person who Field Points to be noted

passed away
Abi Malayalam actor and Passed away at a Kochi hospital
mimicry artist
Saraswati Tripathy Freedom fighter Saraswati Tripathy had met Mahatma Gandhi
at Beraboi Ashram in Puri district
Sreerupa Mukherjee Indian women’s cricket She was the first woman cricket selector from
Player Bengal
Adarsh Sein Anand 29th Chief Justice of India
Purabi Mukhopadhyay Sangeet singer Kolkata
Ali Abdullah Saleh Yemeni president
Shashi Kapoor Bollywood actor
Ja Ra Sundaresan Tamil journalist and He had assumed the pseudonym of Bhakkiyam
humourist Ramasami.
Laloo Chiba South African freedom
fighter
Johnny Hallyday Rock star
Sukharanjan Sengupta Journalist He had worked for Bengali dailies 'Jugantar'
and 'Ananda Bazar Patrika'
Lalji Singh Scientist ‘father of DNA fingerprinting in India’
36 | P a g e
Batuk Gathani Journalist and foreign

correspondent
Chaudhary Prem Singh Politician Senior Congressman and ex-speaker of Delhi
Assembly
Neeraj Vora Actor-director He has directed films such as 'Phir Hera Pheri'
and 'Khiladi 420'
Rabisankar Bal Journalist and Bengali author
Keely Smith Pop and jazz singer California, US
Jatileswar Mukhopadhyay Bengali singer
Bruce McCandless NASA astronaut
Banwari Lal Joshi Former UP Governor
Partha Mukhopadhyay Bengali actor
Robbie Malinga South African musician
Ashok Kumar Mattoo Sports administrator The first President of Hockey India.
Alfie Curtis Actor London
Hoshang Dadiba Amroliwala Cricket player
Dr Daljit Singh Ophthalmologist
Sue Grafton Author California, US
M V Pylee Educationist Third Vice Chancellor of the Cochin
University of Science and Technology.
Adithyan South Indian music director
BOOKS & AUTHORS
Book Name Author Other Information

‘Two’ Gulzar Two’ which examines the status
of refugees after the
Partition.’Two’ published by
HarperCollins India
Bollywood -The Films! The Songs! The S.M.M. Ausaja, Karan launched by ActorAmitabh
Stars!, Bali, Rajesh Devraj and Bachchan
Tanul Thakur
"Poeatry" Vikas Khanna It is a collection of over 100
poems related to food and life. It
is conceptualised and
designed by Kumar
Chiplunkar at Chap & Chapette
'Trivendra Ek Zindaginama - Khairasain ka Nandan Singh Bisht, a Uttarakhand Chief Minister
Sooraj' doctor Trivendra Singh Rawat has
launched his biography
‘The Way I See It’ late journalist Gauri a book containing writings by
Lankesh ,edited by late journalist Gauri Lankesh
Chandan Gowda was launched at the Mumbai
Press Club, in Mumbai.
37 | P a g e
IMPORTANT DAYS
Observed date/week Day Other information
December 1st World AIDS Day Theme 2017 - “my health, my right ”.
December 1st Border Security Force (BSF)- 52nd
Raising Day
December 2nd International Day for the Abolition of
Slavery
December 2nd World Computer Literacy Day
December 3rd International Day of Persons with Theme 2017 - “Transformation towards
Disabilities sustainable and resilient society for all”
December 4th Indian Navy Day
December 5th International Volunteer Day for Theme 2017 - volunteers act first. Here.
Economic and Social Development Everywhere
December 5th World Soil Day Theme 2017 - ‘Caring for the Planet starts from
the Ground’
December 6th 62nd Mahaparinirvan Diwas
December 7th Indian Armed Force Flag Day
December 7th International Civil Aviation Day
December 1st to 7th Armed Forces Week Objective of the campaign is to get people to
make financial contributions to the Armed
Forces Flag Day Fund (AFFD)
December 9th International Anti-Corruption Day Theme 2017- ‘United against corruption for
development, peace and security’.
December 10th World Human Rights Day
December 11th International Mountain Day Theme 2017-Mountain under Pressure: climate,
hunger, migration.
December 12th ‘Universal Health Coverage Day’
December 12th International Day of Neutrality Idea of dedicating a day to neutrality was coined
by Turkmenistan
December 14th National Energy Conservation Day
December 15th Atal Tinkering Lab’s Community Day Amitabh Kant,CEO of NITI Aayog’s Atal
Innovation Mission launched Atal Tinkering
Lab’s Community Day in New Delhi
December 16th Vijay Diwas in India and Bangladesh It marks India’s military victory over Pakistan in
1971 during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, in
alliance with Bangladesh.
December 18th National Minority Rights Day
December 18th International Migrants Day Theme 2017 - Safe Migration in a World on the
Move
December 19th 56th Goa Liberation Day Goa Liberation Day marks the day on which
Goa was released from Portuguese dominance
December 20th International Human Solidarity Day
December 22nd National Mathematics Day In memory of mathematician Srinivasa
Ramanujan’s birth anniversary.
December 23rd National Farmers’ Day (Kisan Diwas
December 24th National Consumer Day
December 25th Good Governance Day in India To mark the birth anniversary of former Prime
Minister Atal Bihari Vajp
38 | P a g e

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STATEWISE NATIONAL NEWS

Jammu and Kashmir

BANKING & FINANCE

Schemes and Launches in Banking & Finance News

Other Important Banking & Finance News

No. MoU between Field

Other Important MoUs

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

Foreign Policy Kamala Harris

Highest earning musician Diddy American

Mother Teresa Memorial Actress Priyanka Chopra Social causes

ii.Best Actor (Critics)

National Design Award G Satheesh Reddy He is Scientific Advisor to the

BBC Team of the Year England’s women cricket Sports

2017 NASSCOM-DSCI Cyber section of Kolkata All india security

2017 'Harivarasanam' Singer K S Chitra Kerala honour her contribution to

Globe Soccer's Best Player Cristiano Ronaldo

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

Gurbachan Singh Director General National Human Rights

Indian states or Cities in Rankings

Other Index/Report in National & International News

Conference/Summit in National & International News

Other Summits & Conference

Committee/Meeting in National & International News

Meetings in National & International News

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Mobile Apps/Portal Launched by Purpose

‘Files Go’ Google To freeing up space, finding files faster and

“R-MITRA” (Railway Eastern Railway For security of passengers, especially women,

Other Science & Technology news

Sports/Tournament/title Winner Points to be noted

Commonwealth Wrestling Championships in Sushil Kumar

Other sports news

Name of the person who Field Points to be noted

Batuk Gathani Journalist and foreign

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Book Name Author Other Information

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