Current Affairs December 14-15, 2017

Dear SH Aspirants,
Study Daily Current Affairs and stay updated as well as prepare for General Awareness section of bank exams. It's time to gear up your preparations for IBPS/RBI/SBI/SSC and with the daily dose of current affairs, you can easily prepare G.A and score well.

Rajasthan becomes first in country to offer e-mail IDs in Hindi

Rajasthan has become the first state in the country to offer free e-mail address in Hindi to its residents.

• This facility will lead to millions of new users who are not comfortable with English e-mail ids.
• The project has been implemented by the state IT department with the partnership in form of in-sourcing with private IT companies.

Submarine Kalvari to be commissioned by PM Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will commission India's first Scorpene class submarine, Kalvari, into the Indian Navy in Mumbai on 14 December.

• The Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders delivered Kalvari on September 21to the Navy after successfully completing all trials.
• Scorpene submarines can undertake varied missions such as anti-surface and antisubmarine warfare, intelligence gathering and mine laying.

RBI imposes restrictions on Corporation Bank

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed certain restrictions on Corporation Bank on carrying out banking activities as its share of bad loans rose sharply.

• The government owned bank said that the RBI has triggered prompt corrective action (PCA) against it in view of high non-performing loans and requirement to raise capital.
• This makes Corporation Bank eighth bank to face restriction in a span of 10 months.

India Signs Loan Agreement with World Bank for SANKALP Project

A Financing Agreement for IBRD loan of USD 250 million (equivalent) for the “Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) Project” was signed with the World Bank.

• The Objective of the project is to enhance institutional mechanisms for skills development and increase access to quality and market-relevant training for the work force.

RBI imposes Rs 3 crore penalty on IndusInd Bank

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed Rs 3 crore penalty on IndusInd Bank for breaching rules on income classification norms.

• A statement issued by RBI said that the penalty was imposed after the regulator observed violation of various regulations issued by the RBI on non-performing loans and extension of non-fund based limits.

ADB lowers India's GDP forecast for FY18 to 6.7 per cent

The Asian Development Bank has raised its economic growth estimate for developing Asia to 6 percent for this year from a previous estimate of 5.9 per cent, citing stronger than expected exports and China's resilience.

• The Manila-based ADB kept its 2018 Asia growth forecast at 5.8 per cent.
• By region, South Asia will remain the fastest growing region in Asia Pacific, the ADB said, with India's growth outlook lowered to 6.7 per cent from 7.0 per cent.

K. Jeeva Sagar appointed Ambassador of India to Kuwait

Shri K. Jeeva Sagar (IFS: 1991) has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the State of Kuwait.

• He is expected to take up his assignment shortly. He is presently Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs.

India's Lakshmi Puri Receives 'Power of one' Award At UN

Six top diplomats, including an Indian woman Lakshmi Puri, have been felicitated with the inaugural Diwali “Power of One” award at the UN headquarters in New York for their contribution to help form a more “perfect, peaceful and secure world”.

• The awards were presented on Monday on the occasion of the first anniversary of the US Postal Service's issuing of a forever Diwali stamp last year.

India hosts 4th India-Australia-Japan trilateral meeting 

Issues related to counter-terrorism, economic cooperation and maritime security were highlighted in the 4th India-Australia-Japan trilateral meeting hosted by Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in New Delhi.

• On the other hand, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj held the 15th Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
• Russia and India also extended support and cooperation for China as the chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) for 2017-2018 and for China's hosting of 2018 SCO Summit.

MHA releases Rs 174 crore to six states for border development

The Home Ministry has released Rs 174 crore to six states having an international border for development of infrastructure in forward areas.

• The states that will be benefited under the Border Area Development Programme (BADP) are Assam, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

3. Japan To Offer Grant For Vocational Training Centre In Rajasthan

Japan has decided to offer a grant worth 8.4 million Yen for the construction of a vocational training centre for poor women and youth in Rajasthan's Baran district

• The Grant Assistance for Grassroots Projects (GGP) for development projects are designed to meet the diverse basic human needs of the people in developing countries.

FIH chief Batra elected unopposed as IOA President

International Hockey Federation (FIH) chief Narinder Batra has been elected unopposed as the president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), while Rajeev Mehta was re-elected secretary general for a four-year term.

• The 59-year-old Mr. Batra, thus, became one of the few sports administrators to head a national Olympic committee while heading an important international sports federation.

Lucknow's Jitesh Singh Deo wins Mr. India World 2017 title

Jitesh Singh Deo from Lucknow has bagged the Mr. India World 2017 title. He will represent India at the Mr World competition.

• Prathamesh Maulingkar, a model and entrepreneur from Goa, won the Mr India Supranatural 2017 title.

Siwach named ABC’s best youth boxer

World youth champion Sachin Siwach was named the Asian Boxing Confederation’s best youth boxer of the year after winning an online poll conducted by the continental body.

• Siwach polled 36.2 % votes in his category.
• India also fetched the Best Asian International Technical Official (ITO) award with Lenny D’Gama winning the online poll.

Michael Jordan becomes the world's highest-paid athlete of all time

In the latest list released by Forbes, Michael Jordan has been named as the highest-paid athletes of all time.

• Meanwhile, former world number one golfer Tiger Woods is standing at the second spot, with an eye-popping $1.7 billion pretax.

Actor-director Neeraj Vora passes away

Bollywood actor, writer and filmmaker Neeraj Vora died at a Mumbai hospital. He was 54.

• His last film as an actor was Anil Kapoor starrer Welcome Back, which released in 2015.
• Neeraj Vora was also known for writing the first part of the Hera Pheri series (2000) and Rohit Shetty’s Golmaal (2006).
• He also directed Hera Pheri 2.