Current Affairs Update - 14th December, 2016

Hello and welcome to exampundit . Here are the important Current Affairs of 14 December, 2016. These are important for the upcoming IPPB PO Mains, NIACL AO Mains, IBPS Clerk Mains and RBI Assistant Mains 2016-17.

• The Indian Railways on 13 December 2016 tied-up with the State Bank of India (SBI) to install at least 10000 Point of Sale (POS) machines using debit or credit cards at the Public Reservation System (PRS) counters of Railways.
• This tie-up was undertaken to promote Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to promote cashless transactions.

• In the first phase, 40 POS will be installed on priority at A1, A and B category stations in the division.
• With this, passengers will be able to carry out cashless transactions while booking tickets. However, cash will also be accepted.
• No extra fee will be charged from travellers, however, railways will pay 0.75 percent Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) through debit cards up to and above Rs 2000. This MDR will be 1.50 percent and 2.50 percent respectively for transactions through credit cards and foreign cards.
• Nagpur division of Central Railway installed around 15 POS machines in one go, out of which, 6 were installed in Nagpur, four in Ajni, two in Wardha and one each in Chandrapur, Sindhi and Ballarshah.
• In Eastern Railways, PRS counters from Bihar's Bhagalpur to the Bangladesh border will be covered, and all the unreserved ticketing system (UTS) counters will also be brought under the cashless system.
• The West Central Railway (WCR) has already introduced PoS machines at four railway stations in Madhya Pradesh.
• Southern Railway will install a total of 48 machines to give an option for travellers to make their advanced bookings through e-payment mode.

• India on 13 December 2016 signed a Grant Agreement of USD 5.19 million with International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) for Additional Financing for Financing Energy Efficiency at MSMEs Project- Programmatic Framework for Energy Efficiency.
• The agreement was signed by Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary at Department of Economic Affairs on behalf of the Union Government and Junaid Ali Ahmad, Country Director of World Bank (India) on behalf of IBRD.
• IBRD acts as an Implementing Agency of the Global Environment Facility.

• The additional financing will be used to scale up the initiatives that were taken up under the parent project.
• It will bridge the gap in understanding among different stakeholders mainly energy professionals or technology suppliers, banks and financial institutions.
• It will be implemented through a three pronged approach- (i) Capacity building (ii) Direct involvement to augment EE investments at MSME level and (iii) Escalating the EE knowledge base to scale up and replicate the project initiatives such as by establishing key performance indicators.

• With assembly elections right around the corner, the Uttar Pradesh cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav approved the recommendations of the seventh pay commission on 13 December 2016.
• The decision is expected to benefit around 24 lakh government employees and pensioners, who will see a 15-20% hike in their income. The hike will be effective starting January 2017.
• Yadav in his announcement stated that though the decision will put a heavy burden on the state exchequer, it was taken to benefit lakhs of government employees and these people will then help him form the government again with a complete majority so that they continue to get the benefits. He also added that the upcoming UP Assembly election will be historic.
• A report recommending the same decision was submitted to the Uttar Pradesh CM earlier by a committee constituted by the state government. The committee was headed by retired IAS officer GB Patnaik.

• The Rajya Sabha on 14 December 2016 passed the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014 by voice vote. The proposed legislation will replace the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 after its passage by the Lok Sabha and approval of the President.
• It fulfills the government’s responsibilities under the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities to which India is a signatory. It will benefit around 2.8 crore disabled population in the country.

• The bill deals with a range of issues – rights, social protection, reservations, welfare schemes – for the all round development of disabled.
• The bill identifies 19 conditions as disabilities against the seven disabilities identified by the existing Act.
• Under the bill, persons with at least 40% of a disability will be entitled to reservations in education and employment and preference in government schemes.
• The bill also provides for a disabled friendly environment in public spaces such as modes of transport, public offices, hospitals, etc. This provision will give legal safeguards to the Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) of the Union Government.

• The 9th edition of Indra Navy exercise between Indian Navy and Russian Navy began on 14 December 2016 in the Bay of Bengal. This annual bilateral maritime exercise will continue till 21 December 2016.
• The main aim of this exercise is to enhance the inter-operability between the two navies and develop common understanding for maritime security operations.
• The first edition of this maritime exercise between India and Russia was first held in 2003.
• Its scope includes extensive specialized interactions in harbor phase and on the other hand a diverse canvas of operational activities at sea.
• The Indian Navy will be represented by guided missile destroyer INS Ranvir, indigenous frigate INS Satpura and indigenous Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) corvette INS Kamorta.
• Additionally, P8I Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft, Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer, Dornier Short Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft, a submarine and other integral rotary wing helicopters are also scheduled to participate in this bilateral exercise.
• While, the Russian Federation Navy (RuFN) will be represented by Rear Admiral Eduard Mikhalov, Deputy Chief of Flotilla, Pacific Fleet and ships from the Pacific Fleet which are based at Vladivostok.

• The World Bank Group (WBG) on 13 December 2016 halted the two concurrent processes initiated by India and Pakistan under the Indus Water Treaty. The Bank initiated this move in order to protect the treaty.
• A communication in this regard was sent by the World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim to finance ministers of both the countries. The Union Government welcomed this decision.
• India planned to construct Kishanganga and Ratle hydroelectric power plants on Indus River System in Jammu Kashmir.
• Pakistan raised objections against these projects claiming that they would alter the river flows and affect the Pakistan adversely.

• Pokemon Go, the game that has hooked the attention of millions of people worldwide since its launch in July 2016, is finally going to make its debut in India.
• It will be entering the India market on 14 December 2016 in partnership with telecom operator Reliance Jio.
• It will be available for download on Google Play and App store.
• All the Reliance digital stores and a select of its partner locations will be designated as 'PokeStops' or 'Gyms'.
• Owners of Jio Sim will be able to download and play the game without paying any data charges till 31 March 2017.
• Jio users will also have access to an exclusive Pokemon Go Channel through its social messaging app JioChat, which will enable the game’s users to collaborate and form a community of players.

• India has emerged as the most preferred destination for innovation in Asia and third biggest globally, with 'Silicon Valley' of East Bengaluru leading the charge, says a research by global consulting major Capgemini.
• "India has been ranked as the No. 1 innovation destination in Asia and No. 2 in the world for new innovation centres," the report said.
• Bengaluru, which saw the opening of three new centres between March and October this year and an announcement by Apple to establish a startup accelerator, leads the Indian challenge on innovation and is ranked as the fifth hub at the global level.
• Nine new innovation centres were opened in the country during the period, taking the total number of innovation centres to 25. The US leads the list with 146 centres, followed by Britain with 29 and India is at the third place with 24 centres.
• The report said there has been noticeable activity in tier-II cities when it comes to innovation, and added that apart from Pune, which already existed on the global map, Jaipur has also entered the list with two new centres.
• The research, done by Capgemini Consulting's Digital Transformation Institute in collaboration with Fahrenheit 212 and in partnership with Brian Solis of Altimeter said efforts taken by the government are the prime moving factor for the emergence of the country in the list.

• V G Kannan on Wednesday took charge as Chief Executive of the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA).
• He succeeds M V Tanksale who demitted office as Chief Executive on August 9, 2016 after being at the helm for three years.
• Kannan had retired as Managing Director & Group Executive (Associates & Subsidiaries) of State Bank of India on July 31, 2016.
• IBA is a self-regulatory organisation of banks. The 70-year old body has 237 members comprising public sector banks, private sector banks, foreign banks having offices in India, co-operative banks, regional rural banks, and all India financial institutions.

• Government today appointed V K Sharma as the Chairman of state-owned behemoth Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) for five years.
• Managing Director at LIC, Sharma was already acting as chairman since September 16 when the then chairman S K Roy was relieved of his duties.
• Roy had resigned in June, nearly two years ahead of his retirement.
• Sharma has been serving as LIC's MD since November 2013.
• Having joined the body as a direct recruit officer in 1981, Sharma has served as the chief executive of its mortgage subsidiary LIC Housing Finance and zonal manager in charge of the south zone.

• The United Nations (UN) General Assembly has granted Observer Status to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) — the world’s largest business organisation representing more than six million members in over 100 countries.
• The decision — taken by 193 members of the UN General Assembly during its on-going 71st session in New York — is the first time that a business organisation has been admitted as an Observer at the UN General Assembly. The list of UN observers is highly restricted and features principally intergovernmental organisations.
• The new role for ICC means that business will, for the first time, have direct voice in the UN system. The decision paves the way for ICC to contribute directly to the work of the General Assembly and reflects the vital role the private sector will play in implementing the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

• The book titled Courts of India- Past to Present was in news on 12 December 2016. The purpose of the coffee table book is to introduce the complexities of the Indian Judiciary to common public in a simple and non-technical manner.
• The primary focus of the book is on the evolution of higher judiciary in India in the colonial period.
• The book remarks that the establishment of High Courts in Bengal, Madras and Bombay provinces in the 19th century is the real beginning of functional higher judiciary in India.
• It covers important events like the establishment of Federal Court under the Government of India Act, 1935 and the historic trial of last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar.
• It also covered important judgements of the Supreme Court like Kesavananda Bharati Case (1973), Indira Sawhney Case (1992), SR Bommai Case (1994), etc.
• To maintain the simplicity, several photographs are included in the book that better illustrates the narrative in the book.

• Sochi, the Russian city that hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics, will not host the 2017 Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Championships.
• The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) that stripped Sochi as the host of the world championship said, it would not be prudent to hold the championships in Russia, a country accused of state-sponsored doping.
• The decision came on the basis of a report that claimed that more than 1000 Russians benefitted from a doping cover-up between 2011 and 2015. The report published by Canadian law professor Richard McLaren on 9 December 2016.
• The McLaren report described how the sport was ‘hijacked’ by Russia to win at the London 2012 and Sochi 2014 Olympics and other global competitions. It said that mass doping helped it to win several medals in these events.

• Walter Swinburn, one of the most renowned jockeys of his generation and rider of the Shergar, passed away on 12 December 2016 following a prolonged illness. He was 55.
• He was famously known for winning the Epsom Derby horserace three times in his career as a jockey.
• He was nicknamed as the 'Choirboy'.
• Swinburn was just 19 when he rode Shergar, a brilliant British-trained racehorse, to a memorable 10-length victory in the 1981 Derby at Epsom.

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