CURRENT AFFAIRS 07/12/2017

CURRENT  AFFAIRS  07/12/2017

1. Armed Forces Flag Day- 07 December

i. Armed Forces Flag Day is being observed throughout the country on 7 December to honor the martyrs and the men in uniform who valiantly fought on our borders to safeguard the country's honor.

ii. The day marks the annual Armed Forces Flag day in India since 1949.

2. PM Modi Inaugurated B R Ambedkar International Centre

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the BR Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi. The prime minister also unveiled two statues of the Dalit icon at the center in Janpath.
ii. Union Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Vijay Goel was also present at the event. The center was a fusion of Buddhist and modern architecture. He had laid the foundation stone of the center in 2015.

3. Govt Sets Up Panel to Address NPAs in Power Sector

i. The government has set up a high-level committee headed by NITI Aayog chief executive Amitabh Kant to address the problem of stressed assets in India's power sector.

ii. Non-performing assets (NPAs) in power generation accounted for around 5.9% of the banking sector’s total outstanding advances of Rs4.73 trillion, according to the second volume of the Economic Survey 2016-17.

4. India and Cuba Sign MoU for Enhanced Cooperation in Health Sector

i. India and Cuba signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for enhanced cooperation in the health sector.

ii. The objective of this MoU is to establish comprehensive inter-ministerial and inter-institutional cooperation between the two countries in the field of health by pooling technical, scientific, financial and human resources in both countries.

5. Indian and Italy Sign MoU for Cooperation in Agriculture and Phytosanitary Issues

i. Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Shri Radha Mohan Singh with H.E Maurizio Martina, Italian Minister for Agriculture Food and Forestry Policies have signed a new MoU for cooperation in Agriculture and Phytosanitary issues that will replace the one signed in 2008.

ii. The MOU provides a good framework for cooperation in this field. India has contributed 37 million USD in the 10th replenishment of IFAD for the period 2016-2018. Mr. Singh with the Italian Minister participated in the AGRIMACH India, 2017.

6. Paytm Unveils 'Paytm Ka ATM' Partner Outlet for Banking Operations

i. India's largest digital bank Paytm Payments Bank is the only bank providing zero balance accounts and zero charges on digital transactions. The bank has unveiled 'Paytm Ka ATM' outlets that allows customers to open Saving Accounts and deposit/withdraw money from their bank accounts.

ii. In the first phase, Paytm has started with 3,000 'Paytm Ka ATM' points in select cities including Delhi NCR, Lucknow, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, and Aligarh.

iii. These outlets feature local banking correspondents who help customers in depositing and withdrawing money from their Paytm Payments Bank account, making banking simpler and more accessible for one and all.

7. UNESCO Inscribes 'Kumbh Mela' on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

i. UNESCO has inscribed 'Kumbh Mela' on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The decision was taken during the 12th session of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intangible Cultural Heritage at Jeju in South Korea.

ii. This inscription is the third in two years following the inscriptions of 'Yoga' and 'Nouroz' on 1st December 2016. The 'Kumbh Mela' is the largest peaceful congregation of pilgrims on the earth.

8. Australian Government Passes Marriage Equality Law

i. Australia’s parliament has legislated for marriage equality, passing a bill almost unanimously to allow two people, regardless of sex, to marry.

ii. The House of Representatives passed a cross-party bill after an unprecedented national postal survey gave unstoppable momentum to legislate the historic social reform. Australia, which changed the law in 2004 to say that marriage is only between a man and a woman, now becomes the 25th country to recognize same-sex marriage.

9. Center Enhances Monetary Allowances for Gallantry Award Winners

i. The Government has enhanced the monetary allowances for the Gallantry Award winners.
ii. The enhancement is for the recipients of post-independence Gallantry Award, pre-independence Gallantry Award and the monetary allowance attached to 'Jangi Inam', a pre-independence Gallantry Award. The allowances have been doubled in most of the cases and in a few cases have been increased by more than 100%.

10. Swiggy Appoints Vishal Bhatia as CEO of New Supply Business

i. Online food delivery start-up Swiggy (Bundl Technologies Pvt. Ltd) has appointed Vishal Bhatia as the chief executive officer for its new supply business.

ii. Bhatia comes with 19 years of experience in consumer goods firms like Reckitt Benckiser Group, PepsiCo and Britannia.

11. India Wins First-Ever South Asian Regional Badminton Team Championship

i. India has won the first-ever South Asian Regional Badminton Team Championship. In the title clash played in Guwahati, India defeated Nepal, 3-0.

ii. In the boys’ singles competition Aryaman Tandon defeated Dipesh Dhami while Ashmita Chaliha defeated Rashila Maharjan in the Girls’ singles event.

iii. In Boys’ Doubles, the pair of Arintap Dasgupta and Krishna Prasad came back from a game behind to beat the duo of Dipesh Dhami and Nabin Shrestha.

12. Johnny Hallyday, France's 'Elvis Presley' Passes Away'

i. France's biggest rock star Johnny Hallyday has died after a battle with lung cancer. He was 74. The singer sold about 100 million records and starred in a number of films in a career that began in 1960.

ii. He was made a Chevalier of the Legion D'Honneur by President Jacques Chirac in 1997.