Current Affairs - December 3, 2017 Current Affairs

India awarded the Certificate of Commendation for its effort to combat illegal wildlife trade. "The award was given to Wildlife Crime Control Bureau yesterday by the Secretary-General of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) at Geneva, Switzerland", Environment Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan. Wildlife Crime Control Bureau is a statutory multi-disciplinary body established by the Government of India under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, to combat organized wildlife crime in the country.

The Telangana State Government will set up the world's first IT Campus for differently-abled persons. On the occasion of the World Disability Day (WDD), the state Government has signed an agreement with Vindhya E-Infomedia Private Limited to set up the Information and Technology (IT) campus to focus on creating employment opportunities for persons with disabilities on December 3, 2017. The proposed campus will be set up in an area of 10 acres near the IT park developed by the state Government near the Hyderabad international airport. The campus will have all the amenities like Training, Residential facility and Delivery centers that will cater to various clients both domestic and International. The campus is expected to create two thousand jobs in next 5 years by providing apt training.

Salil S Parekh has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD) of Infosys, with effective from January 2, 2018. Parekh joins Infosys from Capgemini, where he was a member of the Group Executive Board. He has Master of Engineering degrees in Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University, and a Bachelor of Technology degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay.

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. But it also contains more planet-warming carbon and heart and lung-damaging sulfur.In 2016, the U.S. sent more than 8 million metric tonnes of petcoke to India. That's about 20 times more than in 2010.

On the occasion of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu launched Deen Dayal Divyangajan Sahajya Scheme in Guwahati, Assam. Under this scheme, every differently abled person in Assam would be entitled to a one-time grant of Rs 5000 for their treatment. At the launch function, Vice President Naidu praised Assam Government for introducing 'Pranam Act' under which, all government employees can make contributions from their salaries for the welfare of elderly and differently abled family members.

The International Day of Persons with Disabilities is observed every year on December 3 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. The annual observance of the day was proclaimed in 1992 by a United Nations General Assembly resolution. The 2017 theme is "Transformation towards sustainable and resilient society for all".

Uhuru Kenyatta has been sworn-in for a second and final five-year term for the post of President of Republic of Kenya, a month after winning a bitterly disputed election rerun marked by delays and boycott. Several heads of states and tens of thousands of his supporters attended the inauguration at a stadium in the capital, Nairobi, on 28th November 2017. Kenyatta won 98% of the votes cast in October's poll, which was boycotted by the main opposition leader, Raila Odinga, who alleged the poll wouldn't be free and fair.

Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)signed 2 Bilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APA) with The Netherlands during the month of November'17. These Agreements are the first ever Bilateral APAs with The Netherlands. With the signing of these Agreements, the total number of APAs entered into by the CBDT has gone up to 186. This includes 171 Unilateral APAs and 15 Bilateral APAs. These two APAs pertain to the Electronics and Technology sectors of the economy. The international transactions covered in these agreements include Distribution, Provision of Marketing Support Services, Provision of Business Support Services.

India's first Madame Tussauds wax museum was opened at Regal Building, Connaught Place, New Delhi. Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in New Delhi is the 23rd edition of Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. It consists of 50 lifelike figures of personalitiesrelated to history, sports, music, films, and politics.

Suresh Prabhu, the Union Minister of Industry and Commerce, was the chief guest for the Shared Value Summit 2017 in New Delhi on December 1. The summit was organised by Shared Value Initiative India, Institute for Competitiveness (India), and SoulAce & India Council on Competitiveness in association with BusinessLine. The theme of the summit was "Equity and Empowerment". The purpose of the summit is to encourage businesses to adopt the practice of shared value by imbibing the spirit of inclusivity in their business models. The summit aims to provide a platform to identify and address the barriers that exist to equality and empowerment in the Indian society.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with BJP's women wing members in Gujarat via his NaMo App. In a unique new innovation, the Prime Minister addressed over 7500 Mahila Morcha workers of the Gujarat. The App is one of the most popular apps by any political leader. It has already around 10 million downloads.

The world's largest propeller plane, Antonov AN-22, landed at the Manchester Airport in England. The heavy military transport aircraft drew a large crowd of aviation enthusiasts to witness its landing. The aircraft has a 211-foot wingspan and is capable of carrying cargo weighing up to 80,000 kilograms.

Japan will host a ministerial meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC) on December 15, which will be focused on finding peaceful ways to pressure North Korea to halt its nuclear and ballistic missile tests and de-nuclearise the Korean peninsula. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected to brief the council. This year's meeting has the backing of nine members - the United States, France, Britain, Italy, Japan, Senegal, Sweden, Ukraine and Uruguay.