CURRENT AFFAIRS: 03/12/2017

CURRENT AFFAIRS: 03/12/2017

1. Nation Remembers India's First President on his Birthday

i. Nation on 03rd December 2017 remembered India's first President Rajendra Prasad on his 133rd birthday. Born on December 3, 1884, in Siwan, Bihar, Prasad was a Gandhian and participated in India's freedom movement. 

ii. Dr Prasad was one of the prominent leaders of the Indian Nationalist Movement alongside Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel and Lal Bahadur Shastri.

2. International Day of Disabled Persons: 03rd December

i. The annual observance of the International Day of Disabled Persons (3 December) was proclaimed in 1992, by the United Nations General Assembly.  It aims to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and development, and to increase awareness of the situation of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.

ii. 2017 Theme: “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient society for all”.

3. Corporation Bank launches RuPay Credit Cards

i. Corporation Bank has launched its RuPay Select and RuPay Platinum credit cards. Corporation Bank’s RuPay credit cards are accepted at all RuPay-enabled 1.5 million plus PoS terminals and 80,000 plus e-commerce merchants in India and all ICS Partner acceptance points (POS, e-commerce merchants) globally.

ii. Jai Kumar Garg, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Corporation Bank, unveiled the cards in Mangaluru. 

4. Iranian President Inaugurates First Phase of Chabahar Port

i. The first phase of Chabahar port was inaugurated by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. The port, located in Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan Province, was inaugurated in the presence of representatives from India, Afghanistan and several other countries of the region. The port will open up a new strategic transit route between Iran, India and Afghanistan, bypassing Pakistan. 

ii. The port is likely to ramp up trade between India, Afghanistan and Iran in the wake of Pakistan denying transit access to New Delhi for trade with the two countries.

5. Virat Kohli surpasses Brian Lara for Most Double Centuries as Captain

i. There is no stopping Virat Kohli. Just a day after becoming the first captain to register a hat-trick of centuries in a three-match series, the Indian skipper scaled yet another milestone when he scored his sixth double century, the highest as a captain. He overtook West Indies great Brian Lara, who held the record previously with five double tons in Tests.

ii. With a sixth double hundred, Kohli has also tied Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag for the most 200-plus scores for India in Tests. While Tendulkar had six double centuries, Sehwag had recorded four double and two triple hundreds.