8th December 2016 – Current Affairs Today

National Current Affairs

PETROTECH 2016 Conference in Delhi

Theme of the conference: “Hydrocarbons to fuel the future – Choices & Challenges”.
The conclusion of the Petrotech-2016 on December 7, 2016, was marked by signing 11 MoUs for different purpose.

Horse racing not cruelty, but tonga races on metal roads are: SC

Supreme Court judgment clearly differentiated bulls as “bovine animals” which are unfit for running, while horses as “solid-hoofed quadruped, domesticated for riding”.
The Rajasthan High Court had banned Tonga Races in the state by after the Supreme Court judgment of 2014 banning
Against the tonga races ban, a petition was filed in the apex country saying that the 2014 judgment banning jallikattu was confined only to bulls and not horses.

AP Purse Mobile App launched

Aim:To promote digital transaction among people.
The application has 13 mobile banking and 10 mobile wallet The application can be used to pay bills and carry out cashless transactions.
Engineering students will also be encouraged to train people in mobile banking transactions which would help the students to earn while learn.

India to Contribute USD 1.25 mn to UN relief for Palestinian refugees

20 donors have come up with the intention to donate to the budget of UNRWA
The agency reported a funding gap of USD 74 million in September 2016 after which the UN Member States made contributions which has reduced the gap to USD 37 million.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was founded in December 1949.
UNRWA is a relief and human development agency, basically to provide jobs on public works projects and direct relief to 652,000 Arab Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes during the fighting that followed the termination of the British mandate over the region of Palestine.

Hindi Among Top 10 Languages on Planet

Hindi language has been listed at the 10^thposition in the Power Language Index Ranking by The World Economic Forum (WEF).
English was placed at the 1^st position and Mandarin at 2^ndposition followed by French

RBI announces its first policy review post-demonetisation

Repo rate remained unchanged at 6.25%
Reverse Repo at 5.75%
Cash reserve ratio or CRR unchanged at 4%
Due to demonetization, the central bank has lowered the GDP growth forecast from 7.6 per cent to 7.1 per cent for the current fiscal.
Inflation target remains 5 percent for March 2017 with risks tilted to the upside.
Demonetisation to lower prices of perishables and could reduce inflation by 10-15 basis points by December.

Bank will have to bear full liability in case of online security breach

Reserve Bank of India (RBI)has relaxed the Additional Factor Authentication (AFA) norms for online transactions up to Rs. 2,000 to save time transaction time of customers and also promote government’s digital payment program.
RBI has also notified that the banks will have to bear the full liability in case of any security breach in the authorised card network information.

PayTM launched Toll Free Number 180018001234 for Transactions Without Internet connection

Paytm launched its toll-free number 180018001234 to enable transaction through mobile phones without an internet connection
Customers can use basic mobile phones to transact money using this service, before that they need to register with PayTM their mobile number and set a four digit paytm PIN.

100 banks join National Financial Switch network as direct members

100 banks have joined the National Financial Switch(NFS) network as direct members established ATM networks, now NFS network comprise of 745 members
The network has established 2,30,000 ATMs till date.
National Financial Switch (NFS) is the largest network of shared automated teller machines (ATMs) in India.

BSE’s INDIAINx Ties Up With DGCX

INDIAINx has signed an agreement with largest Rupee-Dollar (INR-USD) market Dubai Gold and Commodity Exchange(DGCX) to reach out to the global traders in a wide range of products including the trading in INR-USD contract.
INDIAINx will offer derivative exchange in rupee-dollar contracts, products on gold, silver, copper and crude oil such as the West Texas Intermediate and Brent contracts, two of the leading contracts in oil trading.

Mahila E-haat ties up with India Post, State Bank of India for Wider Payment Option

Women and Child Development Ministry has tied up with India Post and State Bank of India to offer more payment options to buyers and simplify shipping of products bought from“Mahila E-haat”.
Mahila E-haat is an online marketing platform for women entrepreneurs. It was launched in March, for the socio-economic empowerment of women who can register their products on the platform without having to pay any listing fee.
India Post will help women in selling products on the forum located at the nearest post office for shipping purposes.

Helen Marten wins UK’s Turner prize

UK artist Helen Marten was named as the winner of the 2016 Turner prize. He received award with £25,000 prize
The Turner Prize is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist under the age of 50

Vijaya Bank & Corporation Bank Wins Awards at the 4th SMEs Excellence Award-2016

Vijaya Bank has been honored with ‘Best Bank for SME Lending award’ at the fourth SMEs Excellence Award function
The Best MSME Bank Award 2016was given to The Corporation Bank

Justice TS Thakur Recommends Justice JS Khehar as 44th Chief Justice of India

Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar has been recommended as the 44th Chief Justice of India (CJI)
He will be the first Chief Justice of India from the Sikh community.
After the retirement of TS Thakur and the appointment of Justice Khehar as CJI, the collegium for appointment of judges will also change.

Bernard Cazeneuve appointed as the New French PM

French president, François Hollande, has named Bernard Cazeneuveas the new prime minister of France until a presidential election next May.
Cazeneuve, who was interior minister, will replace Manuel Valls,who resigned on December 6, 2016, in a bid to become France’s next president.
Cazeneuve, 53, was appointed as the interior ministry – the French equivalent of the Home Office – in 2014.

Journalist, Political Analyst, Actor Cho Ramaswamy Dies

Ramaswamy was former BJP Rajya Sabha member.He was the founder and editor of the political magazine Thuglak magazine and was fearless in criticising the ruling government in the state or at the center.
He has acted stage actor and also directed several movies and was also a screen play writer.

Magnitude-6.5 earthquake hits Indonesia’s Aceh province

A strong 5 magnitude earthquake hits Aceh province on Indonesia‘s Sumatra island
At least 97 persons were killed and over 500 injured based on data from the hospital. Mosques, homes and shops were flattened in the quake

Former Spain defender Dominguez announces retirement

Former Spain international footballer Alvaro Dominguez Sotoannounced his retirement due to health problems
He joined German top flight club Borussia Monchengladbach from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2012 and provided three goals and four assists in 81 competitive encounters.

Argentina win women’s Hockey Junior World Cup 2016

Argentina women’s hockey team defeated Netherlands women’s team to win the women’s Hockey Junior World Cup 2016 in Santiago,
Argentina team won the gold medal in 23 years for the first time.