Current Affairs Updates - 26 December 2017
Important Days
Good Governance Day is observed on 25th December.
- It is observed in India annually on the twenty-fifth day of December, the birth anniversary of former-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Good Governance Day was established in 2014 to honor Prime Minister Vajpayee by fostering awareness among the Indian people of accountability in government.
Banking/Economic Affairs
Bad loans of Public sector banks (PSBs) stood at Rs 7.34 lakh crore by the end of second quarter this fiscal
According to Assocham, Indian economy may reach 7% growth in 2018
- After 'disruptions' from the lingering effects of demonetisation and GST roll-out, the Indian economy may reach a 7 per cent growth in 2018 with government policies tilting towards the stress-ridden rural landscape in the penultimate year before the Lok Sabha elections," according to the industry body's "Year-Ahead Outlook".
Indian economy is expected to witness sharp recovery in the January-March quarter and its GDP growth likely to be around 7.5% for 2018, says a Nomura report.
- According to Japanese financial services major Nomura’s Composite Leading Index (CLI), some growth consolidation is likely in the Q4 (October-December), followed by a sharp recovery in Q1 (January-March) 2018 due to ongoing remonetisation and improving global demand.
Rankings
According to the Global Food Security Index 2017, Bangladesh has been ranked a lowly 89th, among other South Asian countries.
- Currently, only 113 countries are ranked accordingly. Bangladesh's neighbours, Nepal and Myanmar, have been ranked at 81st and 80th positions respectively.
- While Pakistan is at 77th rank, India secured the 74th position in the index. Sri Lanka scored the best in the entire South Asian region, with a rank of 66th.
National Affairs
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a section of the Magenta Line of Delhi Metro.
- The 12.64km section connects Botanical Garden in Noida to Kalkaji Mandir in South Delhi and vastly improve travel time providing relief to thousands of daily commuters.
Based on a crowd-sourced design, a logo was unveiled at the 'Namma Bengaluru Habba' fest to promote 'Brand Bengaluru' on the global tourist map.
- The city is the first to gets its own identity badge. With a new identify and a new look, Bengaluru joins New York, Paris, Berlin, London, Melbourne, Singapore and other global cities in having its own tourism logo.
The Centre has recognised Odisha as a 'Champion State' for recording the highest growth in exports during 2016-17
- This was announced during a review meeting of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on the export performance of states and formulation of strategy attended by L N Gupta, MSME Additional Chief Secretary, Odisha.
IndiGo Becomes First Indian Airline To Operate 1,000 Flights A Day
- "The milestone underlines IndiGo's position as the country's largest and fastest-growing carrier with 150 Airbus and one ATR aircraft connecting 46 destinations."
Jairam Thakur to be the new Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister
- After its chief ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal lost in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly election that gave BJP almost a two-third majority, the party chose another Rajput leader and five-time MLA Jairam Thakur for the top post.
International Affairs
Tunisia has banned Emirates airline from landing in the capital Tunis after a number of Tunisian women were prevented from boarding its flights.
- The move comes amid widespread anger in Tunisia, with rights groups condemning "racist and discriminatory" measures.
- The transport ministry said the measure would stay in place until Emirates was able to "operate flights in accordance with law and international agreements".
China's domestically developed AG600, the world's largest amphibious aircraft, also known as 'Kunlong', performed its maiden flight
- China has stepped up research on advanced military equipment as it adopts a more muscular approach to territorial disputes in places such as the disputed South China Sea, rattling nerves in the Asia-Pacific region and the United States.
The world’s longest glass bridge was opened in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province near Beijing, the capital of China.
- The bridge stretches 488 meters long and two meters wide. It stands at 218 meters above the valley between two steep cliffs in Hongyagu Scenic Area in Pingshan county.
- It is made of 1,077 panes of transparent glass with each being four centimeters thick and weighs a total of 70 metric tons.
- The sky bridge is designed in a such a way that it swings a little when visitors walk to its center.
Agreements (MoU)
Samsung, Axis Bank tie-up to offer 'Bill Payments' on Samsung Pay
- The new feature launched by the company will enable users to pay their utility bills seamlessly via Samsung Pay's secure and convenient platform.
The African Union (AU) and Russia have joined hands to resolve issues of terrorism and transnational crime and to achieve peace.
- According to Xinhua, the agreement was made during the meeting between AU Commissioner for Peace and Security Smail Chergui and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow.
- Both the leaders stressed the need for broad cooperation in dealing with regional and global affairs.
The Uttar Pradesh government signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korea to enhance cooperation in the field of tourism, skill development, culture and farming.
- A delegation from Gimhae city of South Korea met chief minister Yogi Adityanath here and discussed ways to improve cooperation between the two countries.
Sports: Awards & Honours
India topped the medals' chart after claiming five gold medals on the final day of the AIBA World Women's Youth Boxing Championships.
- Nitu, Jyoti, Sakshi, Shashi Chopra and Ankushita Boro clinched the yellow metals. India earlier had also won two bronze medals. It was the biggest medal haul in the championship, followed by Russia.
India finished runners-up after going down 1-0 to Bangladesh in the final of the SAFF U-15 Women's Championship in Dhaka.
- In a closely contested game, Shamsun Nahar's strike in the 41st minute sealed the issue in Bangladesh's favour.
- After blanking out Bhutan and Nepal, India lost to Bangladesh in the group stages, as the hosts bagged the title.
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