Current Affairs Updates - 4 December 2017

Current Affairs Updates - 4 December 2017

Important Days

The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery is a yearly event on December 2. 

• Around the world 21 million women, men and children are forced into slavery.  The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery focuses on the eradication of slavery in its contemporary forms including the worst forms of child labor, forced marriage and all forms of human trafficking.

International day of persons with disabilities is being observed on December 3 to promote the rights and welfare of disabled individuals around the globe. Theme: "Transformation towards sustainable and resilient society for all".

• The day, marked on 3 December annually, aims to promote empowerment, inclusion and access to reduce inequalities in society. It also seeks to increase awareness of gains to be derived from the integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.

New Appointments: National

Former journalist and author A. Surya Prakash has been appointed as the chairman of the public broadcaster Prasar Bharati for a second term.

• Prakash, who has been at the helm of Prasar Bharati for three years since 2014, retired earlier in October. In an order by the information and broadcasting ministry (I&B) dated 1 December, Prakash’s reappointment (for a period of a little over two years till February 2020) was approved by a three-member committee headed by the vice-president M. Venkaiah Naidu.

Infosys appoints Salil S. Parekh as CEO and Managing Director.

• Parekh, who will take over on January 2, 2018 for a period of five years, was a member of the Group Executive Board at French firm Capgemini, Infosys added. 

 Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti was re-elected as the president of the Jammu and Kashmir.

• Mehbooba's election for the sixth consecutive term was unanimous, party leaders said. She thanked party leaders for "reposing their trust and electing me as their president".

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation's former Chairman, D K Sarraf, as the new Chairman of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board.

• An official statement said, that former Director (Operations), Oil India Ltd, S Rath, has also been appointed as a Member in the board, after replacing K K Jha. Ex-Member, Cyber Appellate Tribunal. S S Chahar too has been appointed as Member (Legal) in the board.

New Appointments: International

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has been sworn in for a second and final five-year term.

• Kenyatta, 55, won 98 percent of the votes cast in October's poll, which was boycotted by the main opposition leader, Raila Odinga, who alleged the poll would not be free and fair.

International Affairs

World's largest propeller plane Antonov AN-22 with a wingspan of over 200 feet touches down at Manchester Airport

• The Antonov AN-22 is very rarely spotted and drew a huge crowd of aviation enthusiasts to the airport to witness it. Flying in from Helsinki, Finland, it was originally due on Thursday afternoon but that arrival was cancelled.

Science & Technologies

US space agency NASA has said a set of thrusters aboard the Voyager 1 spacecraft, the only human-made object in interstellar space, have been successfully fired up after 37 years without use.

• The spacecraft has been using small devices called “attitude control thrusters” to orient itself so it can communicate with Earth, but the thrusters have been degrading since 2014, according to NASA.

Agreements (MoU)

Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has signed 2 Bilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) with The Netherlands pertaining Electronics and Technology 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.

Awards & Honours

India Awarded Certificate of Commendation for Its Effort to Combat Illegal Wildlife Trade

• Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan has said that India has been awarded with the Certificate of Commendation for its exemplary enforcement action in its regional and global effort to combat illegal wildlife trade.

Sports: Awards & Honours

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

• The sole Indian participant and defending Asian champion retained his title with a time of 55.60 seconds. Due to technical reasons, the Asian Luge Championships took place at Altenberg in Germany.