CURRENT AFFAIRS 13/12/2017

CURRENT AFFAIRS 13/12/2017

1. 2nd UNWTO/UNESCO World Conference on Tourism and Culture Held in Muscat

i. The second UN World Tourism Organization/UNESCO World Conference on Tourism and Culture was held in Muscat, Capital city of Oman.

ii. The Minister of State for Culture (Independent Charge) and Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Dr. Mahesh Sharma led the Indian delegation. The conference was focused on sustainable development, culture and tourism as a factor of peace and prosperity; tourism development and protection of cultural heritage.

2. India to Host 3rd Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of AIIB

i. India will host the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) at Mumbai in June 2018.

ii. The Theme of the Annual Meeting, 2018 will be “Mobilizing Finance for Infrastructure: Innovation and Collaboration”.

iii. The Government of India and AIIB Secretariat signed the MoU to delineate the duties and responsibilities of major stakeholders who would be involved in organizing the aforesaid Annual Meeting. 

3. AIIB Grants 1st loan to China to Reduce Dependence on Coal

i. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) approved its first loan to China, its largest shareholder, to reduce its dependence on coal by over 600,000 tonnes annually by building a natural gas distribution network for villages.

ii. The USD 250-million-loan will fund a project to connect 216,750 households in approximately 510 villages to the natural gas distribution network. With an authorized capital of USD 100 billion, China is the largest shareholder with 26.06 percent voting shares.

iii. India is the second largest shareholder with 7.5 percent.

4. RBI Raises FPI Limit in G-Secs, State Development Loans

i. The Reserve Bank of India increased the limits for investment by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) for the January-March 2018 quarter by Rs 6,400 crore in Central Government Securities (G-Secs) and Rs 5,800 crore in State development loans (SDLs).

ii. With effect from January 1, 2018, the revised investment limit for FPIs in G-Secs will be Rs 2,56,400 crore against the existing limit of Rs 2,50,000 crore.

5. ADB Lowers India’s GDP forecast for FY18 to 6.7%

i. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) lowered India’s GDP forecast for the current fiscal by 0.3% to 6.7 %.

ii. It has also revised downward the gross domestic product (GDP) outlook for next fiscal beginning from March 2018 to 7.3% from 7.4% mainly due to rising global crude oil prices and soft growth in private sector investment.

6. Rajasthan, First in India to Offer e-mail IDs in Hindi

i. Rajasthan has become the first state in the country to launch free email addresses in Hindi (in Devanagari script) for its residents, as per the state IT department Principal Secretary Akhil Arora.

ii. The initiative aims to ensure maximum participation of people towards e-governance and that maximum facilities are available in the vernacular language. The first e-mail ID was created for CM Vasundhara Raje.

7. Dhammapiya Elected New Secretary General of IBC

i. Buddhist monk Dhammapiya from Tripura has been elected as the new secretary general of the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC).

ii. He was elected to the post at the second general assembly of the IBC. The IBC is a global Buddhist forum for preservation and development of heritage sites of the religion in India and other parts of the world.

8. India Becomes 1st Ever Team to Register Hundred 300+ ODI Totals

i. India has become the first-ever team to register 300+ totals 100 times in ODIs, after posting 392/4 against Sri Lanka in Mohali.

ii. This was also the 25th instance of India scoring 350+ in an ODI innings, second-most by a team after South Africa (26). India was driven by captain Rohit Sharma's 208*, his third ODI double hundred which is also a record in ODIs.

9. Shubhankar Sharma Wins Joburg Open

i. 21-year-old Indian Golfer Shubhankar Sharma claimed his maiden European Tour victory in the Joburg Open, in South Africa. He has defeated South Africa’s Erik Van Rooyen.

ii. This was a maiden European Tour win for Shubhankar Sharma. England’s Marcus Armitage was the top British finisher in Joburg.