Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2018

Notes:
The 9th meeting of India-ROK Joint Commission (ROK/ South Korea) was held in New Delhi on December 18-19, 2018. South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha co-chaired the meeting with her Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj and reviewed the progress in multifaceted cooperation under the Special Strategic Partnership between the two countries. Both sides agreed to raise the quantum of the bilateral trade to US $50 billion by the year 2030.

Notes:
In order to mark the 125th anniversary of the Battle of Patharughat, the Assam government has announced three schemes – Assam Farmers’ Credit Subsidy Scheme (AFCSS), Assam Farmers’ Interest Relief Scheme (AFIRS) and Assam Farmers’ Incentive Scheme (AFIS) – for the welfare of farmers. On 28th January 1894, approx 140 peasants were killed in an unprovoked police firing while protesting against enhanced revenue. Hence, Patharighat is also known as Assam’s Jallianwala Bagh. Under ‘AFCSS’, whatever amount of loan the farmers took from banks and whatever amount they repaid, 25% of the money will be reimbursed by the state government. Under ‘AFIRS’, currently 3% of the 7% interest against farm loan is paid by the Central government and the remaining 4% is required to be paid by farmers. The state government has decided to pay the remaining 4% loan to give relief to the farmers. Under ‘AFIS’, the state government will pay a one-time cash incentive up to Rs 10,000 for activating the inactive KCC accounts provided the farmers deposits the outstanding loan amounts.

Notes:
Former India opener, W. V. Raman has been appointed the new coach of the Indian women’s cricket team. The selection of Raman was based on recommendations of the ad-hoc committee comprising Kapil Dev, Anshuman Gaekwad and Shantha Rangaswamy. His first assignment is the tour of New Zealand beginning on January 2019. Raman is a vastly-experienced coach having been in charge of Tamil Nadu and India Under-19 teams in the past. Raman has represented India in 11 Tests and 27 ODIs.

Notes:
NITI Aayog has released its comprehensive national ‘Strategy for New India @ 75′ document with an aim to accelerate growth to 9-10% and make the country a $4-trillion economy by 2022-23. It is a detailed exposition across 41 crucial areas, that recognizes the progress already made, identifies binding constraints, and suggests the way forward for achieving the clearly stated objectives. The 41 chapters in the document have been disaggregated under four sections: Drivers, Infrastructure, Inclusionand Governance. The overarching focus of the Strategy document is to further improve the policy environment in which private investors and other stakeholders can contribute their fullest towards achieving the goals set out for New India 2022.

Notes:
On 20th December, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh launched the iGOT (Integrated Government Online Training Programme) for government employees. The iGOT will augment the existing training mechanism with online module-based training coupled with certification. The programme, developed by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Ministry of Personnel, will make training inputs available to a government servant on-site and on flexitime basis. The initiative aims at “competent civil services for good governance”. Dr. Singh also launched Right to Information (RTI) Portal on Judgments/Orders of Supreme Court, High Courts and CIC that will provide a learning environment for all stakeholders under which a repository on the landmark cases on the RTI will be available at one place. He also launched a hybrid course on administrative laws developed by the DoPT in collaboration with premier law institute National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru.

Notes:
India’s first music museum will be set up with assistance from the Central government in Thiruvaiyaru, Tamil Nadu, the birth place of Saint Tyagaraja, one of the Trinities of Carnatic music. The Tyagaraja Aaradhana Music Festival which is held annually in January in Thiruvaiyaru attracts musical talents from all over the world.

Notes:
Nirmala Sitharaman, the Defense Minister of India, has launched the Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) to boost maritime security at Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) Gurugram on 22 Dec 18. IFC will function as a platform where multiple friendly nations can freely exchange non-sensitive information. The intention of this collaborative endeavour shall be to secure the global commons for a peaceful, stable and prosperous region towards the well-being of all. The IOR is vital to world trade and economic prosperity of many countries as more than 75% of the world’s maritime trade and 50% of global oil consumption passes through it.

Notes:
On December 23, Bala Rafique Shaikh clinched the 62nd Maharashtra Kesari 2018 title by defeating Abhijeet Katke of Pune in the wrestling duel held at Azad ground, Jalna, Maharashtra. He defeated his opponent 11-3 in the one-sided match. Shaikh was honoured with a silver mace and cash prize of Rs 1 lakh. Maharashtra Kesari is an Indian-style prestigious wrestling championship, established in 1961. ‘Kesari’ is a Sanskrit word for ‘Lion’.

Notes:
Late music composer Laxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar has been bestowed with the Mohammed Rafi Lifetime Achievement Award, which consists of Rs. 1 lakh and a trophy. Kudalkar formed a successful and long partnership with Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma and as music composers they belted out hit tracks like ‘Bindiya Chamkegi’, ‘Main Shayar Toh Nahin’ and ‘Hansta Hua Noorani Chehra’ among others. The award was instituted by an NGO headed by Mumbai BJP Chief Ashish Shelar. While playback singer Usha Timothy was honoured with the Mohammed Rafi award and Rs. 51,000 at a programme held in suburban Bandra She has sung 1,000 songs in multiple Indian languages such as Hindi, Malayalam, Punjabi, Bhojpuri and Marathi, among others.

Notes:
The Maharashtra government has launched Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee International Schools in Mumbai on the occasion of 94th birth anniversary of the late Prime Minister. The school is affiliated to the Maharashtra International Education Board (MIEB) with an aim to achieve higher education standards in rural areas.