Current Affairs - December 9, 2017 Current Affairs

The Taj Mahal, a mausoleum crafted in ivory-white marble, has been named 2nd best UNESCO world heritage site in the world, according to a new survey by travel portal TripAdvisor. The 'monument of love' was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. It is rated after Cambodia's Angkor Wat. Other popular heritage sites on the survey include the Great Wall of China built by Xu Da of Northern Qi Dynasty in 1368 AD and South America's Incan citadel Machu Picchu in Peru.

Cristiano Ronaldo has been awarded the Ballon d'Or for world player of the year for the fifth time to equal Lionel Messi's achievement. The award was handed out by magazine France Football, for the second consecutive year. Ronaldo collected the trophy in a ceremony at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, presented by former France player David Ginola on 7th December 2017. Lionel Messi came second while Paris' Neymar Jr, came third, Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon finished fourth and Luka Modric came fifth.

Apollo Munich Health Insurance, a standalone health insurer, launched a novel health insurance plan 'Health Wallet' that caters not only to the customers' hospitalisation and OPD expenses, but also ensures affordability of continuing their policy in their golden years. Along with the 'Health Wallet' plan is a unique 'RESERVE' benefit that continues to grow and earn for the customers and helps them secure their retirement. The accumulated reserve kitty can in turn be used to pay up to 50 percent of the renewal premium, post five continuous renewals.

Actor Shah Rukh Khan has been named the top Indian actor of 2017 by Internet Movie Data Base (IMDb). The list is based on IMDb's StarMeter stats and pageviews, and also takes into consideration which actor stayed at the top and for how long. Aamir Khan and Salman Khan occupied the second and third spots.

Communication expert, Sarvesh Kumar Tiwari, was appointed as the President of Para-Sports Foundation (PSF), India. The announcement was made at the National Award for Divyangjan 2017 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. Para Sports Foundation is a non-profit organization working towards the social welfare of persons with disabilities.

Mamta Kalia, the renowned Hindi scholar and writer, has been chosen for the 27th edition of Vyas Samman-2017 for her novel "Dukkham Sukkham". According to the KK Birla Foundation, which instituted the award in 1991, Vyas Samman is given annually to an outstanding work of Hindi literature by an Indian citizen published in the last 10 years. The award includes a cash prize of Rs 3.50 lakh. "Dukkham Sukkham" is a saga of a lower middle-class family's three generations. The literary work focuses on the transition in relations and situations of our society.

he Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) has signed a MoU with Rotary India for concerted efforts towards achieving immunization target. The MoU will provide support and accelerate the efforts under Polio Eradication Programme, Routine Immunization including Mission Indradhanush, Intensified Mission Indradhanush and Measles-Rubella. It will generate awareness through innovative approaches and involving private practitioners and local leaders to achieve immunization target.

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. He finished 13th overall with a total lift of 388kg (172 + 216) but created national records in snatch, clean and jerk, and the total lift.

Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has launched the UAE's first astronaut programme. Earlier this year, the UAE had announced plans to send an unmanned probe to Mars by 2021.

On 8th December 2017, a Public Procurement Portal 'MSME Sambandh' (http://msefc.msme.gov.in) was launched by Giriraj Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for MSME (Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises). By creating an online portal, the Ministries and the CPSEs (Central Public Sector Enterprises) can assess their performance. Giriraj Singh highlighted the fact that this portal would enable the ease of doing business and 'Make in India' initiatives of the Government of India.

The Forbes Magazine has named former Tesco supermarket worker Dan Middleton as the world's richest YouTuber after he made a fortune of $16.5 million this year. The 26-year-old shares videos of himself playing video games and describes gameplay and strategies on his YouTube channel, DanTDM.

Poland's prime minister resigned and will be replaced by Finance Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. As the conservative ruling party took the risk of trading a popular leader for a former international banker who seemed better-suited to representing Poland to critics outside the country.

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 Parrikar on 10th December 2017. This is the first ever 'Food Safety on Wheel' mobile laboratory in India. The vehicle is equipped to conduct on-the-spot tests to check the food quality. It will also check the hygiene level of water. The results can be received within 15 minutes.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that it has approved $44.5 million credit to support Madagascar's economic recovery. This credit facility extended to Madagascar by IMF is in addition to $86 million credit that was approved in June 2017. It is to be noted that IMF and other international financial organisations had stopped giving support to Madagascar after a coup in 2009. However, after a peaceful presidential vote in late 2013, IMF resumed its support.

Kacheguda railway station in Hyderabad division of the SCR (South Central Railway), becomes India's First Energy-Efficient 'A1 Category' Railway Station. It has achieved 100 per cent energy efficiency by replacing 1,312 conventional lights with light-emitting diode (LED) lighting, 370 ceiling fans with Brushless DC Electrical (BLDC) motors energy-efficient fans and 12 air conditioners with energy efficient inverter type ACs.