Current Affairs Updates - 2 and 3 December 2017

Current Affairs Updates - 2 and 3 December 2017

Important Days

World AIDS Day is celebrated on December 1st. Theme: 'Right to health'. 

• World AIDS Day is celebrated every year all over the world on December 1st to raise the public awareness about Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, AIDS.

New Appointments: National

Sunil Kumar Chourasia, IOFS, has been appointed as the new Director General of Ordnance Factories (DGOF) and Chairman of the Ordnance Factory Board.

• He was deputed by the Government of India to United Kingdom for an MBA. Further, Chourasia was in the Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi during in-service training and was awarded an M Phil.

Sibi George was appointed the next Ambassador of India to the Holy See. He is presently Ambassador of India to Switzerland.

• He has been concurrently appointed the next Ambassador of India to the Holy See, with residence in Berne. He is expected to take up the assignment shortly.

Brand Ambassador

Former Miss Asia Pacific, actor, producer, entrepreneur and environmentalist, Dia Mirza, was appointed as UN Environment’s Goodwill Ambassador for India.

• A long-standing supporter of environmental conservation, Dia will take up the role to add more weight to her work on raising awareness of and seeking solutions to environmental issues that the world, and India in particular, faces.

National Affairs

India was re-elected to the Council of the International Maritime Organisation under Category B at an assembly of the body at its headquarters in London.

• Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom YK Sinha represented India at the assembly where India secured the second-highest number of votes (144) from member-countries, just after Germany’s 146 and ahead of Australia’s 143.

Govt fixes sovereign Gold bond rate at Rs 2,952/gram.

• The government, in consultation with the Reserve Bank, has decided to offer a discount of Rs 50 per gram to investors applying online and making payments digitally.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has entered into 2 Bilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs).

• 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.

International Affairs

Raj Shah, Principal Deputy Press Secretary in White House, becomes first Indian-American to gaggle with reporters on board presidential chopper Air Force One.

• Shah, 33, did so in the capacity of Principal Deputy Press Secretary, a position to which he was promoted by US President Donald Trump in September as he restructured his press office by making Hope Hicks Director of Communications.

The word 'populism' has been announced as Cambridge Dictionary's Word of the Year 2017.

• The dictionary defined populism as "political ideas and activities that are intended to get the support of ordinary people by giving them what they want". It said searches for 'populism' rose when Pope Francis made statements warning against its rising tide. 

North Korea successfully launched Hwasong-15, a new type of nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

• It is North Korea’s most powerful ICBM that can reach entire eastern US seaboard and Washington. The ICBM was launched from near Pyongyang and had reached height of 4,475 km and traveled 950 km before it accurately hitting a sea target.

Defence & Railway

Indian Railways decided to upgrade Premium Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains under Project 'Swarna'. 

• Zonal Railways were given a free hand to develop and innovate to create aesthetic and passenger friendly coach interiors on running rakes to establish new standards in passengers comfort. A target budget of Rs. 50 lakh per rake was allowed for this purpose.

Application / Portal 

Technology Giant Google announced the launch Datally App that will help users understand, control and save on their mobile data.

• Globally available on the Google Play Store, Datally App will enable users to track their data usage in real time, and get personalized recommendations on saving data along with notifications of public Wi-Fi spots available nearby.

Agreements (MoU)

India signed a technical cooperation agreement with Spain to implement a Rapid Rail Transit System (RRTS) under which the trains run at a speed of 180Kmph.

• The Minister Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri stated that a collaboration with Spain would enable availability of technical advice on specific issues related to the high-speed rail transit. 3 RRTS corridors are expected to link Delhi with Meerut, Panipat and Alwar.

India and Singapore have signed Bilateral Agreement for Navy Cooperation that will allow Indian Navy ships logistical support, including refuelling at Singapore’s Changi Naval Base located near disputed South China Sea (SCS).

• The Bilateral Agreement for Navy Cooperation will allow Indian Navy ships sailing through disputed SCS or in eastern waters of Andaman Sea to refuel, restock and if needed rearm at Singapore’s Changi naval base.

Summit /Conference / Events / Host

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit at Sochi in Russia

• The meeting is the first major gathering of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit since the bloc was expanded for the first time to add India and Pakistan as full members in June’s Astana summit in Kazakhstan.

The Minister of Industry and Commerce, Suresh Prabhu was the chief guest for the Shared Value Summit 2017  held in New Delhi.  Theme: “Equity and Empowerment”.

• The summit is being organised by Shared Value Initiative India, Institute for Competitiveness (India), and SoulAce & India Council on Competitiveness in association with BusinessLine.
• Prabhu will unveil the Inclusive Business List and Emerging Social Enterprise List for the year 2017. The summit will feature deliberations amongst a varied cross-section of practitioners, thought leaders, government leadership and corporate honchos.

President Ram Nath Kovind, also the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, will be on a two-day vist to Visakhapatnam on December 7-8 to participate in the golden jubilee celebrations of the Navy’s Submarine Arm.

• Chief of Eastern Naval Command (ENC) Vice-Admiral Karambir Singh said in Visakhapatnam that President will arrive in the city on December 7 and will visit Andhra University in the afternoon.

The Minister of Industry and Commerce, Suresh Prabhu, will be the chief guest for the Shared Value Summit 2017 to be held on the theme “Equity and Empowerment”.

• The summit is being organised by Shared Value Initiative India, Institute for Competitiveness (India), and SoulAce & India Council on Competitiveness in association with BusinessLine.

7th edition Kathakar: International Storytellers Festival was held at Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi. It was inaugurated by Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju.

• Kathakar is special initiative, to promote the oral storytelling tradition which has existed across the world. It is only oral storytelling festival in India. It is part of bigger initiative Ghummakkad Narain- the Travelling Literature Festival which was started under aegis of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2010. 

Awards & Honours

The 24-year-old model and Miss Korea Jenny Kim has bagged the title of Miss Supranational 2017 at the gala event, which was held in Poland’s Spa Resort of Krynica- Zdroj.

• Kim left behind 64 contestants from different countries to bag the title. India’s official entry to the competition, Peden Ongmu Namgyal, reached top 25.

Manushi Chhillar awarded Indian of the year special achievement award.

• Manushi greeted by Indian skipper Virat Kohli at an event in Delhi. Minister of Finance and corporate affairs, Arun Jaitley also presented the award to Manushi on her historic win at Miss World.

Sports: Awards & Honours

Indian archers produced an impressive performance, grabbed three gold, four silver and two bronze medals at the Asian Championships in Dhaka.

• India also bagged two gold medals in the non-Olympic compound discipline. Abhishek Verma beat Korean rival Kim Jongho to win the gold and prevent a clean sweep of individual crowns by Korea.

Ace Indian cueist Pankaj Advani Secures IBSF World Snooker Championship Title  at the Al-Arabi Sports Club.

• Pankaj never looked back from there as he raced to a 5-2 lead. He, however, survived a scare in a close battle in the 4th frame.
• A massive break of 134 by Amir in the 6th did not faze the Indian as he immediately widened the lead to 5-2 before going into the 1st session break.

India’s veteran Winter Olympian Shiva Keshavan won a gold medal at the Asian Luge Championships at Altenberg, Germany.

• In a race that was full of surprises, Keshavan started slow but recovered the lead after the second corner. There was a tense moment in the Infamous Curve 11-12 combination, also known as the ‘Labyrinth’, where Keshavan’s sled started a sideways skid, but the Indian was able to bring it under control and retain the lead.