Current Affairs - December 16, 2017 Current Affairs

R Hemalatha appointed as the new Director of the country's premier National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad. Hemalatha is a medical graduate of Gandhi Medical College, Hyderabad. She assumes office at a historic moment as the institute enters its centenary year. She has served as secretary of the Nutrition Society of India, is a fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences and a fellow of the International Union of Nutritional Sciences.

The second edition of the Serendipity Arts festival is held in Goa. Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar inaugurated the festival. The festival is hosted across 11 venues which are a mix of indoor and outdoor locations. It celebrates the best of craft, music, theatre, culinary arts, visual arts and photography.

Oxford Dictionaries has declared "Youthquake" as 2017's Word of the Year, reflecting what it calls a political awakening among millennial voters. It was first coined in the 1960s by Vogue editor, Diana Vreeland, who used it to describe sudden changes in fashion, music and attitudes. The Oxford English Dictionary defines youthquake as the "series of radical political and cultural upheavals occurring among students and young people in the 1960s".

The Vijay Diwas day marks the glorious victory over Pakistan in 1971 during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, in alliance with Bangladesh Mukti Bahini. On 16th December in 1971, the chief of the Pakistani forces, General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, along with 93,000 troops, surrendered to the allied forces consists of Indian Army. The anniversary of Vijay Divas is observed across India by paying tributes to the martyrs who laid down their lives for the nation.

Norway has become the first country in the world to shut down national broadcasts of its Frequency Modulation (FM) network by completing its transition to digital radio. The transition, which began on January 2017, allows for better sound quality and more channels and functions at an eighth of the cost of FM radio. The digital switchover means that only the country's local radio stations continue to use FM frequencies. Other countries, including Switzerland, Britain and Denmark, are due to follow suit in the coming years.

Maharashtra Government has started efforts to adopt Clinical establishment (Registration and Regulation) Act with an aim to ensure the minimum standards of facilities and services provided by them. Maharashtra Health Minister Dr. Deepak Sawant stated that this step would regulate all clinical establishments in Maharashtra. The draft Clinical Establishment Bill has been pending in Maharashtra since 2010 due to opposition from medical fraternity.

India and Columbia are set to join hands in the field of agriculture and fisheries with an aim to boost the economy and mutual co-operation of both the countries. Notably, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Colombia in the field of agriculture and fisheries.The MoU provides for cooperation in the following fields of agriculture and Fisheries Innovative agricultural practices/approaches, New agricultural mechanizations, Successful models of agricultural marketing, To develop projects in association with agricultural companies for production of seed, Innovative production models and value generation processes in horticulture(vegetables, fruits and flowers).

Union Water Resources Ministry is planning to merge phase-I and II of Ken-Betwa inter-linking of rivers (ILR) project. This project aims to link the rivers Ken in Madhya Pradesh and Betwa in Uttar Pradesh. Estimated cost for the first phase was Rs 18000 crore while second phase would cost Rs 8000 crore. Merging Phase - I and Phase - II is being considered on insistence of Madhya Pradesh State Government, which is one of the beneficiary state of this project. Other beneficiary state is Uttar Pradesh.

Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu has inaugurated the World conference on Vedas " Vishwa Ved Sammelan" at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA) in New Delhi on December 15, 2017. The 3-day conference will have in-depth discussions on the universal message of the ancient scriptures to bring world peace, ensure human rights and work towards the Sustainable Development Goals. It will also have in-depth discussions on de-mystifying various myths and fallacies surrounding the Vedas and Manu Smriti. The valedictory function of the conference on the 17th December will be attended by former president Pranab Mukherjee.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 60-megawatt Tuirial hydroelectric power project from Aizawl, Mizoram. Mizoram had become the third power- surplus state in the north-east after Sikkim and Tripura. The hydropower project would produce "251 million units" of electrical energy every year. The Tuirial project, which was announced and cleared in 1998 by the then Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. It was the first major central project to be successfully commissioned in Mizoram. Prime Minister also inaugurated the Shillong - Nongstoin Rongjeng Tura road.

GE Aviation and Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) have entered into a partnership to manufacture, assemble, integrate and test aircraft components. GE Aviation and TASL will jointly manufacture CFM International LEAP engine components in India, catering to the global market. CFM International LEAP engine is currently considered as world's leading jet engine. It has also been announced that both the companies will jointly pursue military engine and aircraft system opportunities for the Indian market.

Jitesh Singh Deo bagged the title of Peter England Mr India 2017. The first runner up was Abhi Khajuria and the second runner up was Pavan Rao. The winners were felicitated by actor Kangana Ranaut. Jitesh will represent India at the Mister World 2020 contest in 2020 and Prathamesh Maulingkar of Goa titled Mr India Supranational 2017 and will represent the nation at Mr Supranational 2018

The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) of NITI Aayog has launched the Atal Tinkering Lab (ATL)'s Community Day in New Delhi on 15th December 2017. The day marked the Community Drive Initiative in which 25 young Mentors engaged with more than 200 students who are not enrolled in the formal education system. Amitabh Kant, the CEO of NITI Aayog, has launched the initiative in which these mentors will visit four locations in New Delhi to conduct brief sessions with children from various NGOs, on how innovations can help resolve the problems in the communities. The Atal Tinkering Lab Community Drive Initiative is aimed at maximizing the impact of Atal Tinkering Labs by extending innovation to children in the community who do not have access to formal educational institutions. The purpose of this initiative is to provide these children with the same educational tools as the students in Atal Tinkering Labs to enable them to become problem solvers. The NGOs participating in these interactions include organizations working with disabled children, street and working children, and girls from the weaker sections of society.

Jammu and Kashmir Bank launched "J&K Bank Sahafat Finance Scheme", a special financial scheme for journalists of the state.Journalists and employees of media houses in Jammu & Kashmir can avail finance through this scheme for buying cameras, laptops, tablets and books. The loan amount can be in the range ofRs 50000 to Rs 3 lakh, which should be repaid in 60 monthly instalments.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje announced the increase in age limit while applying for government jobs from 35 to 40 years. On the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the BJP government in Rajasthan Vasundhara Raje made few other announcements also. She announced developmental works for Jhunjhunu district worth Rs 2,237 crore. The other announcements include 48-hour free treatment for victims of road accidents in government and private hospitals, free angiography of patients in government hospitals and more than one lakh government jobs in the near future.