Current Affairs Highlights 2018

January 2018 Current Affairs Highlights

1st International Dam Safety Conference-2018 was recently held in Kovalam, Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) from January 23-24, 2018.

1st January 2018 was observed as the World Day of Peace with the Theme ‘Migrants and Refugees: Men and Women in search of Peace’.

27th January 2018 was observed as the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust with the Theme “Holocaust Remembrance and Education: Our Shared Responsibility”

28th January 2018 was observed as the Data Privacy Day/ Data Protection Day with the theme “Respecting Privacy, Safeguarding Data and Enabling Trust”.

3rd edition of Science Film Festival 2018 was recently held at Goa.

48th annual meeting of World Economic Forum (WEF) was recently held at Davos (Switzerland). Theme : Creatinga Shared Future in a Fractured World.

6 Southeast Asian nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Brunei) formed an initiative titled ‘Our Eyes’. Aim of ‘Our Eyes’ : To counter terrorism and extremism in the region.

65th Meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) was recently held at New Delhi. This meeting was chaired by : Prakash Javadekar (Union Human Resource Development Minister)

8th National Voters Day was observed on 25th January 2018 with the theme “Assessable Elections”.

10th Global Forum for Food & Agriculture was recently held in Berlin (Germany) with the theme “Shaping the future of livestock – sustainably, responsibly, efficiently”.

12th January 2018 was observed as the National Youth Day with the Theme ‘Sankalp Se Siddhi’.

9th January 2018 was observed as Pravasi Bharatiya Divas with the theme “Ancient Route, New Journey: Diaspora in the Dynamic ASEAN INDIA Partnership”.

A book titled “Dilli Meri Dilli : Before and After 1998” was recently released. This book was written by the former Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit.

A comic book titled ‘The Wall’, based on former India captain Rahul Dravid’s life, has been released by Sportwalk, a Chennai-based sports media and merchandise startup, on the occasion of the cricketer’s 45th birthday.

A new book titled “Majuli: Resources and Challenges” edited by author- academician Sanjib Kumar Borkakoti has been released. This is a collection of essays by experts and is replete with photographs, maps, diagrams and charts.

A special CBI court sentenced Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav along with other convicts to 3.5 years in jail in the ₹89-lakh fodder scam case.

According to a recently released census of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Mauritius was the largest source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India, followed by the US and UK in 2016-17.

According to a recently released data by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s foreign exchange (Forex) reserves have scaled to fresh record high of $409.366 billion as on December 29, 2017.

According to a recently released report of the National Family Health Survey, Delhi is the richest state of India. Bihar is India’s poorest state.

According to recent report published by World Steel Association (WSA), India has overtaken US to become the world’s third largest steel producer in 2017.

Acid attack victims, people with Autism, Mental Illnesses, and Intellectual Disabilities, will now get reservation for central government jobs.

In case of direct recruitment, 4% of the total number of vacancies will be reserved for people with benchmark disabilities.

After serving the Navy for 30 and 28 years respectively, Indian Navy has decommissioned INS Nirbhik and INS Nirghat warships at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai (Maharashtra).

After taking five wickets in the first Test against India, 22-year-old South African pacer Kagiso Rabada has become the world’s highest-ranked Test bowler.

Alpha Design Technologies Ltd. has signed Rs. 45-crore deal with Ministry of Defence to supply indigenous simulators for gunnery and missile firing from BMP II vehicles to Indian Army.

American electronic commerce and cloud computing company Amazon has launched a checkout-free hi-tech grocery store called ‘Amazon Go’ in Seattle, US. It uses ceiling-mounted cameras to identify each customer and track what items they select, eliminating the need for billing.

American online social media and social networking service Facebook announced that it has invented a new unit of time called ‘flick’ to measure the speed of digital audio and video. A flick, or frame-tick, is roughly 1.41723356 nanoseconds long and defined as 1/705,600,000 of a second.

American online social media and social networking website Facebook has launched its ‘Marketplace’ to buy and sell used goods and services across categories such as electronics, entertainment, and housing in India.

American technology company Microsoft has topped Thomson Reuters’ list of Top 100 Global Technology Leaders. US-based Chipmaker Intel and computer networking company Cisco stood at 2nd and 3rd places respectively.

Amid the controversy over a data breach, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has announced a ‘Virtual ID’. The Aadhaar-card holder can generate these temporary 16-digit

Virtual IDs from UIDAI’s website and give it for various purposes, wherever Aadhaar number is necessary to provide.

An option titled the Right to Match card, has been introduced for the first time in the ongoing IPL auctions. Right to Match card is an option for a team to retain a player, by matching the highest bid amount for the player by another team during the auction.

Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank (APGVB) operationalised its first desktop ATM in Warangal (Telangana), to facilitate customers to withdraw small amounts.

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu inaugurated the World War II Memorial Museum in the state’s Changlang district bordering Myanmar.

Arunachal Pradesh has been declared open defecation free ahead of the national deadline of October 2, 2019. Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Haryana were already declared open defecation free states in October 2017.

Arunachal Pradesh is going to get it’s first Film and Television Institute (FTII). This would be the second such one in the country. The first Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) was set up in Pune in 1960.

As a part of the Swachh Bharat Mission, the Centre has launched a cleanliness survey titled ‘Swachh Survekshan 2018’. The survey, third of its kind, will rank 500 cities on the national level, while 3,541 cities will have state and regional ranking.

Assam Government released a postage stamp in memory of eminent football player Talimeren Ao.

Assam Hockey won the 8th Hockey India Sub Junior Men National Championship 2018 (B Division) by beating

Hockey Rajasthan in the finals at Hojai Hockey stadium, Assam.

Bahrain is going to host the first-ever ‘Baby Olympics’ where two to four-year-olds will take part in the games in April.

Bangladeshi cricketer Tamim Iqbal overtook ex-Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya to record most ODI runs on a single venue.

Bank of Baroda tied up with Digital invoice discounting marketplace Invoicemart, as TReDS (Trade Receivables Electronic Discounting System) partner.

Banking finance company AU Small Finance Bank has signed a MoU with Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) to offer

Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY). Under the MoU, LIC will give a life cover of Rs 2 lakh in case of death to the customer at a nominal premium of Rs 330 per annum.

Bhopal railway station in Madhya Pradesh has become India’s first railway station to have a sanitary napkin vending machine. The machine named ‘Happy Nari’, installed by the Railway Women

Welfare Association of Bhopal, dispenses two sanitary napkins for ₹5.

Bhopal-based Prodigee Finance Limited received Non-Banking Financial Company NBFC license from the Reserve

Bank of India (RBI). CEO of Prodigee Finance Limited : Amit Goel.

Bihar government has banned manufacture, distribution, sale, purchase, display, and advertisement of electronic cigarettes in the state.

Brazilian legend and 2002 World Cup winner Ronaldinho announced his retirement from football.
Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian has drafted the Economic Survey for the year 2017-18 in Parliament.

This survey predicted India’s GDP growth at 7-7.5% in the next fiscal. Important Note : The Economic Survey 2017-18 tabled in Parliament has been printed in Pink to highlight gender issues amid economic development.

China has constructed a 330-foot tall air purifying tower dubbed the “world’s biggest air purifier”.

China has set up world’s first 3D-printed bus stops in Fengjing (Shanghai).

China is going to build a ‘Great Wall’ along the border of the Muslim-dominated Xinjiang province to prevent infiltration by militants.

China successfully launched two BeiDou-3 satellites to provide navigation and positioning services to countries along Belt and Road initiative (BRI) by the end of 2018.

China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), in which India is a second largest shareholder, is going to issue its first US dollar-denominated bond with minimum worth of $100 crore by June this year.

Chinese Bike Sharing Firm OFO launched its services across seven Indian cities (Indore, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Pune, Coimbatore, and Chennai), in partnership with digital payments firm Paytm.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba-owned messaging app DingTalk unveiled an English version in India that caters to the small and medium-sized enterprises.

Chkfake Brand Protection Solutions announced the launch of ‘Chkfake’- a unique global platform which allows users to check authenticity of currency notes of any major currency globally.

Defending champions India defeated Pakistan by 2 wickets to clinch the 5th Blind Cricket World Cup 2018. This is India’s second consecutive title win in the Blind Cricket World Cup.

Delhi beat Rajasthan by 41 runs at the Eden Gardens to clinch their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched a Common card for rides on public buses and the metro. With this

Delhi became the first city in the country to have a common mobility card.

Delhi Daredevils named former Australian captain Ricky Ponting as their new head coach for the Indian Premier League 2018.

Delhi Police Special Cell recently arrested Abdul Subhan Qureshi, the 2008 Gujarat serial blasts mastermind.

Department of Commerce signed MoU with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for integrated development of Logistics sector.

Digital payments startup Paytm has introduced ‘Paytm for Business’ app for merchants and businesses to to accept payments instantly for zero charges.

England all-rounder Ben Stokes became Most expensive buy of IPL 2018 auction after being bought by Rajasthan Royals for ₹12.5 crore.

English football club Arsenal has become the first major global sporting team to sign a sponsorship deal promoting a cryptocurrency.

Environment Minister Harshvardhan launched Mihir, a 2.8 PetaFlops capacity high-performance computer system in Noida (UP). It will help Meteorological department to predict climate based calamities and issue warnings for fishermen.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj inaugurated Puducherry’s First Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) at Karaikal. It will enable locals to avail passport related services without having to travel to Puducherry.

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj was on a 5-day visit to three South-East Asian nations—Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.

Facebook-owned messaging service WhatsApp is going to launch its digital payments feature in India next month.

Federal Bank has entered into a strategic partnership with Hedge Equities Ltd for providing Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS) services to NRIs.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley inaugurated the Platinum Jubilee (75 Years) celebrations of UCO Bank. The bank was established on 6th January 1943 by Ghanshyam das Birla.

Football Delhi (earlier Delhi Soccer Association) signed a MoU with ASSOCHAM (Associated Chambers of

Commerce and Industry of India) for the development of the sport in the capital city.

Football Delhi has decided to celebrate current India football captain Sunil Chhetri’s birthday on August 3 as Delhi’s Football Day.

For the first time, India has attended the meeting of International Military Cooperation Departments of Shanghai

Cooperation Organisation (SCO). This meeting was held in in Beijing(China).

For the poor and disabled people, Manipur chief Minister N Biren Singh has launched a health assurance scheme titled Chief Minister-gi Hakshelgi Tengbang (CMHT).

The CMHT scheme will provide cashless treatment to poor at government hospitals, health centres and other empanelled selected private hospitals.

For the welfare of the downtrodden citizen across the state, the Punjab Government has launched a new scheme titled Mahatma Gandhi Sarbat Vikas Yojna (MGSVY).

Objective of MGSVY : To identify poor and distressed households which have been deprived of the benefits of the various welfare schemes launched by state government.

Former Andhra Bank director Anup Prakash Garg has been sent to a seven-day Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody in a ₹5,000-crore bank fraud case.

Former India captain MS Dhoni has been awarded India’s third highest civilian honour, Padma Bhushan, making him the 11th cricketer to receive the award.

Former President of India Pranab Mukherjee has released the pictorial biography of freedom fighter, pilot, politician of Odisha Biju Patnaik titled ‘The Tall Man Biju Patnaik’. This book has been authored by Sundar Ganesan.

French professional tennis player Gilles Simon won the Maharashtra Open by defeating his Kevin Anderson (South Africa).

Google’s parent company Alphabet has launched a cybersecurity business named ‘Chronicle’ which aims to help companies find and stop cyber attacks before they cause harm.

Haryana became first state to launch High-Risk Pregnancy (HRP) Portal, to help in early identification of high-risk pregnant cases and ensure their timely referral to civil hospital.

Haryana has recorded its Highest Sex Ratio at birth with 914 girls per 1,000 boys in 2017.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur launched 24X7 ‘Gudiya’ helpline. Named after a 16-year old rape and murder victim of Kotkhai, Gudia is used for a quick police response cases of crimes against women.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh launched a graphic novel series titled ‘Bharat Ke Veer’. Author of this Book : Anurag Agarwal.

Hyderabad became 2nd large city (above 1 crore population) to be declared open defecation free (ODF), after Mumbai.

Hyderabad Hunters won the 3rd edition of the Premier Badminton League championship by beating Bengaluru Blasters in the final at Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad.

Iceland has become the first country in the world to make it illegal to pay men more than women.

Idea Cellular and Vodafone India will start operating as a merged entity from April this year.

IDFC Bank’s board has approved a takeover of financial firm Capital First in a share swap deal.

In a bid to end the practice of manual scavenging, the Kerala government is procuring 50 robots named ‘Bandicoots’,which are developed to clean sewer holes.

In a move aimed at promoting Indian traditions abroad, India is going to offer Yoga training sessions at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

Income Tax (IT) Department under the Union Finance Ministry has launched an on-line chat service on its national website www.incometaxindia.gov.in.

India and Laos have signed civil aviation cooperation agreement for providing SkyRev360, a comprehensive e-data gathering, invoicing and collection system.

India and Saudi Arabia signed bilateral annual Haj 2018 agreement, allowing Indian Haj pilgrims through sea route also (that was suspended in 1995).

India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed to set up a mechanism aimed at enhancing maritime cooperation.

India and Vietnam signed two Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) to enhance cooperation in field of information and broadcasting and space cooperation.

India bagged its first-ever medal at an international skiing event after 21-year-old Aanchal Thakur won Bronze at the Alpine Ejder 3200 Cup in Erzurum, Turkey.

India became the 43rd member of the Australia Group, which counters the export of material, equipment and technologies that could create chemical and biological weapons.

India celebrated its 69th Republic Day with a record 10 heads of state from ASEAN Nations, watching the grand parade with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rajpath, Delhi.

India has been ranked 30th on the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) ‘Structure of Production’ Index. Japan topped the list.

India has cancelled a ₹3,174-crore deal to buy 1,600 Spike anti-tank guided missiles with Israeli state-owned defence company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.

India has granted a financial assistance worth over ₹288 crore ($45.27 million) to develop Sri Lanka’s Kankesanthurai (KKS) Harbour into a commercial port.

India has signed $120 million loan agreement with multilateral lending agency World Bank to help increase access to improved water supply services in peri-urban areas in Uttarakhand.

India has signed 187 defence deals to procure military platforms and equipment from domestic and foreign firms in the last four years.

India has signed an MoU with the UK to enable the return of illegal Indian immigrants within a month of their detection.

India has successfully test-fired its nuclear capable surface-to-surface Agni-5 ballistic missile from a test range off the Odisha coast.

India is going to host informal Ministerial meeting of World Trade Organisation (WTO) in March 2018 in New Delhi. Aim of this Meeting : To muster support for issues and also help to multi-lateral process.

India ranked 62nd in the Inclusive Development Index released by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Norway remains the world’s most inclusive advanced economy, while Lithuania topped the list of emerging economies.

India recently retrieved a stolen 12th-century idol of Brahma and Brahmani from London.

India test-fired the nuclear-capable inter-continental ballistic missile Agni-V, whose range includes the northernmost part of China.

Indian Badminton Player Siddharth Pratap Singh won Swedish Open Junior International Series by defeating Denmark’s Mads Christophersen.

Indian External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj and Bhutan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Lyonpo Damcho Dorji jointly unveiled the ‘Special logo’ for the 50 years of diplomatic relations (Golden Jubilee).

Indian Naval Ship Vikramaditya, the Indian Navy’s largest ship and its sole aircraft carrier was formally affiliated to the Indian Army’s Bihar Regiment.

Indian Navy launched INS Karanj, the third of the six indigenous Scorpene-class submarines.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched its 100th satellite from Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh, along with 30 other satellites.

Indian tennis player Ramkumar Ramanathan wins 2nd round qualifying match beating France’s Gleb Sakharov at Australian Open qualifiers in Melbourne.

India’s 1st park for people with special needs was inaugurated by Telangana Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao in Hyderabad.

India’s fifth largest private sector bank, Yes Bank and location-based social networking service Nearby tied up to provide Aadhaar- enabled cardless and pinless ATM service titled PayNEARBY, through which, customers can deposit or withdraw money at retailers’ place.

India’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has announced that it will hire over 9,500 people for customer support and sales functions.

Indigenously developed surveillance aircraft ‘Netra’, also known as ‘eye in the sky’, flew over Rajpath for the first time as part of the Republic Day parade.

Indo-US joint military exercise Vajra Prahar will be held at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) in Seattle (USA) in last week of Jan 2018.

IndusInd Bank and Dynamics Inc announced plans to introduce the first battery-powered, interactive payment cards in the Indian market in 2018.

Iran has banned the teaching of English in primary schools after the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that early learning of the language could pave the way for Western “cultural invasion”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was on a 6 Day visit to India.

ISRO’s commercial arm, Antrix, earned ₹288.75 crore by launching satellites for other countries in the last financial year.

Jack Ma-led Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba became a $500 billion company. Alibaba is only the second Asian technology firm to reach the milestone after WeChat operator Tencent

Holdings, which crossed the $500-billion mark on November 20 last year.

Japan has committed JICA Official Development Assistance loan for an amount of 45 billion yen (about Rs 2,587 crore) for Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Project (Phase 3).

Kazakhstan has overtaken Iraq to become the biggest over-producer in the pact between OPEC and its allies to curb oil output. OPEC – Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries

Kolkata became first metro city in India to get floating market. The floating market is located on lake at Patuli in South Kolkata which is 400 metres long and 60 metres wide.

Less than three months after it was set up, the Committee of Governors submitted a report on best practices to President Ram Nath Kovind. The report titled ‘Rajyapal –Vikas Ke Rajdoot :

Catalytic Role of Governors as Agents for Change in Society’, focuses on key work areas of development and the role that governors can play in taking this forward.

Liverpool’s Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah was named the African Footballer of the Year.

Lok Sabha has passed The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment) Bill, 2017 to allow government to take up infrastructure projects within prohibited areas around protected monuments.

Madhya Pradesh became 1st state to completely implement door-to-door garbage collection in all urban areas, using measures like solid waste management at landfill sites and processing through Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode.

Maharashtra became 1st state to unveil Public Cloud Policy that virtually mandates state government departments to shift their data storage onto cloud.

Maharashtra Health department and Johnson and Johnson signed MoU to train rural midwives and social health activists regarding tuberculosis and maternal and infant mortality.

Maharashtra state government has banned the sale of tobacco at shops selling fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG).

Meghalaya signed the Host City Contract with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) for hosting the 39th National Games in 2022.

Messaging app Telegram is developing a blockchain platform to rival world’s second biggest crypto Ethereum and is seeking to raise $1.2 billion through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO). Called the

‘Telegram Open Network’ (TON), it is designed to host a new generation of cryptocurrencies and decentralised applications.

Micro-blogging website Twitter has announced it would not block the accounts of world leaders even if their statements are “controversial,” citing a need to promote a “public conversation” on political issues.

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeITY) has launched an initiative titled Stree Swabhiman. Aim of Stree Swabhiman Initiative : To create sustainable model for providing adolescent girls and women an access to affordable sanitary products by leveraging Common Service Centres (CSCs).

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio is going to create its own cryptocurrency called JioCoin.

Nepal has started accessing internet from China after commercial operation of Nepal-China optical fibre link via Rasuwagadhi gateway across Himalayan Mountains became operational. This project now ends Nepal’s sole dependence on India for internet bandwidth.

Nirmala Sitharaman became the first full-time Defence Minister to fly in a Sukhoi 30 MKI of the Indian Air Force.

North Korea and South Korea have agreed to march together under a unified Korea flag at the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.

Odisha State Government announced a scheme titled ‘Mukshyamantri Kalakar Sahayata Jojana’ (MMKSJ). Under this scheme, artists from across the state will get a monthly assistance of Rs 1200.

On the occasion of the 69th Republic Day, the Indian Railways renamed Fairy Queen, the world’s oldest working steam engine, as ’69 Ganrajya Express’.

Pakistan has decided to allow the Chinese yuan to be used for imports, exports and financing transactions for bilateral trade and investment activities.

Pakistan’s Navy successfully test-fired its indigenously-built naval cruise missile ‘Harba’ in the Arabian Sea.

Parliament has passed the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Amendment) Bill, 2017 with the approval of Rajya Sabha. This Bill seeks to amend National Bank for

Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) Act, 1981.

Patiala House Court in Delhi has become the first trial court to have a permanent National Flag across the country.

Paytm has announced setting up of its wealth management division Paytm Money for users to store cash and earn interest. Paytm Money will be the company’s fourth consumer brand after

Paytm, Paytm Mall, and Paytm Payments Bank.

Paytm Payments Bank has partnered Induslnd Bank to introduce a facility to create a fixed deposit when the customer balance exceeds Rs1 lakh at the end of day.

Paytm Payments Bank Savings Account holders can now order physical debit cards from the Paytm app.

President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to The Indian Institutes of Management Bill, 2017. This bill grants greater autonomy to the institutes, restricting the government’s role in their functioning.

President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the ‘Economic Democracy Conclave’ at Thane. Aim of this conclave : To create a platform for young entrepreneurs and self-employed individuals and provide them motivation, networking and mentoring.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Plenary Session at the World Economic Forum 2018 in Switzerland’s Davos. With this he became the first Indian PM to address the WEF in 20 years.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have signed an agreement for the co-production of films between the two nations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to visit Palestine on 9th February 2018. During this visit, he will inaugurate Palestine Institute of Diplomacy, which has been set up with Indian assistance of ₹28.6 crore.

Modi will be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Palestine.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on 4-day official state visit to Palestine, Oman and UAE in February 2018. This will be the first ever visit by Indian Prime Minister to Palestine.

Private sector lender HDFC Bank became the first Indian bank to cross ₹5 trillion (about $78 billion) market capitalisation.

Professional player Aditya Mehta won the Kolkata Open 2018 International Invitation Snooker Championship at Hindusthan Club, Kolkata.

Punjab Government signed MoU with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to set up bio-gas and bio-CNG plants in state, to find sustainable solutions to paddy straw burning.

Punjab National Bank (PNB) and National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC) have signed an MOU to provide financial assistance for economic empowerment of persons belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC) families living below Double Poverty Line (DPL).

Rating agency CRISIL has revised its outlook on 18 public sector banks (PSBs) from “negative” to “stable” after the government announced bank-wise capital infusion and reform plans.

Samsung India has launched a new shopping app and service, called Samsung Mall, exclusively for the Indian market.

SARAS PT1N, the new upgraded version of SARAS, the indigenous transport aircraft developed by National Aeronautics Laboratory, successfully made its maiden flight in Bengaluru .

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) introduced Value Added Tax (VAT) for the first time.

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has ordered deposit of $2 billion into Yemen’s central bank to support the country’s national currency rial.

State Bank of India (SBI) and Nabard have signed an agreement with five NGOs in Bengal for the promotion of 2,500 Joint Liability Groups (JLGs) in select districts of the State.

State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation ONGC is going to acquire the government’s entire 51.11% stake in Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) for ₹36,915 crore.

Swiss professional tennis player Roger Federer became the first male tennis player to win 20 Grand Slam titles, after winning a joint-record sixth Australian Open title .

Taiwanese multinational hardware and electronics company Acer has unveiled a laptop, Swift 7 Ultrabook, which is the world’s thinnest computer with a thickness of 8.98 mm (0.35 inches).

Technology giant Apple has partnered with Malala Fund to support girls’ education, thereby becoming its first Laureate partner.

Technology giant Apple has topped Fortune magazine’s list of the ‘World’s Most Admired Companies’ for 2018. E-commerce giant Amazon has retained its second spot, followed by Google’s parent Alphabet.

Telecom tycoon Strive Masiyiwa (57) has become Zimbabwe’s first billionaire with a fortune of $1.7 billion, according to Forbes.

The 13th annual Iron Fist exercise between American and Japanese military forces was recently held at California (USA).

The 150-metre-high Dubai Frame has opened nearly a decade after it was first designed.

The 1st-ever Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) Parliamentary Conference was held in the Pravasi Bharatiya

Kendra (PBK) in New Delhi on the occasion of Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas (PBD).

The 1st-ever public LGBT festival was held in Myanmar after the government gave its approval for the ‘&Proud’ festival, though homosexuality is illegal in the country.

The 26th edition of annual World Book Fair was recentlyh in New Delhi. Theme of World Book Fair 2018 : ‘Environment and Climate Change’.

The 3rd meeting of Council of Trade Development and Promotion (CTDP) was held in New Delhi. Aim of this meeting : To enhance the Centre’s cooperation with the states and union territories in making the latter active partners in boosting India’s exports.

The 4th ASEAN-INDIA Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Forestry was held at NASC Complex, New Delhi. Representatives from 10 ASEAN countries have been attended to this meeting.

Topic of discussion : Food and agricultural future developments.

The 4th International Dharma-Dhamma Conference on “State and Social Order in Dharma-Dhamma Traditions” was recently held at Rajgir in Nalanda district, Bihar.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board has announced that the first-ever Afghanistan Premier League will take place in the UAE in October this year.

The Andhra Pradesh government and the Canton of Zurich signed a sister-state agreement to promote mutual prosperity and development.

The ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit was recently held at New Delhi. Theme of this summit : “Shared Values, Common Destiny”.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a $250 million loan agreement to finance the construction of 6,254 kilometres all-weather rural roads in the States of

Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal under the Prime Minister’s Rural Roads Program (PMGSY).

The Atal Pension Yojana (APY) run by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has reached a subscriber base of 80 lakh. Uttar Pradesh is the highest contributing state at 11.41 lakh APY subscribers, followed by Bihar and Tamil Nadu at 8.87 lakh and 6.60 lakh respectively.

The book titled ‘Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House’ is recently in news due to it’s controversial subject. This book was written by Michael Wolff.

The Budget Session of Parliament began on January 29, and the Budget for the Financial Year 2018-19 will be presented by the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on 1st February 2018.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered 22 cases against Punjab National Bank (PNB) officials for fraudulently processing loans causing a loss of about ₹80 crore.

The Central government announced recently that the Payments banks such as Airtel payments bank and small finance banks such as Utkarsh and ESAF will also offer social security scheme, Atal

Pension Yojana (APY), to their subscribers.

The Centre recently added 9 cities including Bareilly, Silvassa and Moradabad, under its Smart Cities Mission, taking the total number of cities selected for the scheme to 99.

The Centre announced it would infuse ₹88,139 crore as capital into 20 state-owned banks during the current fiscal. IDBI Bank will get the most at ₹10,610 crore, followed by Bank of India and

SBI which will receive ₹9,232 crore and ₹8,800 crore respectively.

The Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry has announced that it has granted citizenship to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

The Election Commission (EC) has constituted 14 member committee to suggest changes to Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (RP Act) in view of social media expansion.

Head of this Committee : Umesh Sinha (Chief Election Commissioner)

The Election Commission has announced that the polling for legislative assembly elections in Tripura will be held on February 18, while polling in Meghalaya and Nagaland will be held on

February 27.

The five days Ice Hockey Tournament 2018 was recently held at Goshan International Ice Hockey Rink, Drass in Jammu & Kashmir. The Cup was lifted by Goshan A by 2 Goals defeating

Himalayan B.

The former international cricketer, Mumbai captain and now television commentator and columnist, Sanjay Manjrekar has released his autobiography titled “Imperfect”

The government and World Bank signed a $100 million (about Rs 6,400 crore) loan agreement to promote rural economy in selected blocks of Tamil Nadu across 26 districts, benefiting over 4 lakh people.

The government formed a 4 Member Ministerial committee to decide what to do with old, pre-existing projects in ports, which have become unviable. Head of this Committee : Arun Jaitley (finance minister)

The government has announced April 1 as the deadline for the mandatory installation of Global Positioning System (GPS) devices and panic buttons in all passenger transport vehicles, including taxis and buses.

The government has announced that it has reduced additional borrowing target for this fiscal by 60% to ₹20,000 crore from the earlier announced ₹50,000 crore.

The government has reversed its decision to issue Orange-coloured passports to people requiring emigration check amid criticism that it might lead to discrimination and segregation.

The government also reversed it’s decision to not print the passport holder’s address on the last page of the booklet, so now Passports will remain a valid address proof in India.

The government has sought Parliament’s approval to issue bonds worth ₹80,000 crore to fund capital infusion into public-sector banks.

The government is going to set up a ₹2,200-crore fund to finance solar projects to achieve its target of having 175 GW in renewable energy by 2022.

The government of Iran has lifted restrictions on use of Internet, including messaging app Telegram.

The government of Telangana and Clean Authority of Tokyo have signed a MoU in the field of municipal solid waste incineration facilities.

The GST Council has decided to put 29 handicraft items in the 0% tax slab and reduce rates on 53 services.

The Haryana government has decided to form a non-banking financial company (NBFC) titled Haryana State Financial Services Limited (HSFSL).

The Home Ministry has declared Nagaland a “disturbed area” under Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) for six more months till June-end. AFSPA empowers the security forces to conduct operations anywhere and arrest anyone without prior notice

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has commissioned Charlie-435, a state-of-the-art patrol vessel at Karaikal in the Union Territory of Puducherry.

The Indian Railways has changed the category name ‘viklang’ (handicapped) to ‘Divyang’ (divine bodies) in its concession forms offered to people with special needs.

The Indian Railways is going to introduce self-propelled ‘Made in India’ luxury trains that are expected to reduce travellers’ time by around 20%.

The International Space Station has completed 7,000 days orbiting the Earth at a 400-km altitude, after its first module was launched in 1998.

The Karnataka state government is going to purchase 640 electric vehicles (40 buses, 100 cars and 500 three-wheelers) under the Central government’s FAME India subsidised scheme.

The largest state-owned natural gas processing and distribution company in India, GAIL India Ltd has commissioned India’s second largest rooftop solar power plant in Uttar Pradesh.

The world’s largest rooftop solar power plant of 11.5 Mw capacity was inaugurated in Amritsar (Punjab) on 19th May 2016.

The Maharashtra government has announced a 1% reservation in government jobs and education for orphans in the state.

The Maharashtra government has approved a Rs 4,000-crore project aimed at promoting climate-resilient agriculture, to be partially funded by the World Bank. It will roll out in 2018-19 and continue till 2023-24.

The Maharashtra government has launched `Balasaheb Thackeray Shaheed Sanmaan’ scheme, under which family members of martyrs would be provided jobs with the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC).

The Ministry of housing and urban affairs and Allahabad Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide a centralised platform for processing interest subsidy under the self employment programme component of Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Urban Livelihood Mission .

The Odisha government has signed an agreement with Software Technology Park of India (STPI), philanthropist Sushmita Bagchi, and IIT Bhubaneswar, for setting up the Centre of Excellence for Virtual & Augmented Reality (VARCoE), an incubator for promoting research.

The Odisha state government has launched Odisha e-Hospital Management Information System (OeHMIS) to provide a computerized platform for online recording of clinical parameters of patients and reporting of performance criteria of hospitals.

The Oxford Dictionaries announced ‘Aadhaar’ as its 2017 ‘Hindi Word of the Year’ at the Jaipur Literature Festival .

The Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) under Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas has launched a month long annual flagship event titled Saksham 2018 (Sanrakshan Kshamta Mahotsav).

Aim of Saksham 2018 : Creating focused attention on fuel conservation through people centric activities and sensitize masses about efficient use of petroleum products.

The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau has announced that he will be on a state visit to India from 17th to 23rd February 2018.

The Raipur Municipal Corporation in Chhattisgarh organised the three-day Kachra Mahotsav 2018. This is India’s first Garbage Festival.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reiterated that all 14 designs of ₹10 coin are legal tender for transactions.

The Reserve Bank of India has ordered banks to recalibrate their ATMs to ensure that they start dispensing the ₹200 denomination notes.

The Reserve Bank of India is going to issue new ₹10 denomination banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series bearing signature of Governor Urjit Patel. The base colour of the note will be chocolate brown, and will have a motif of Konark’s Sun Temple.

The second indigenously built offshore patrol vessel (OPV) named Vijaya built by Larsen and Toubro (L&T) Shipyard for Indian Coast Guard (ICG) was launched at Kattupalli Shipyard, Tamil Nadu.

The South Australian government has approved a proposal of a US-based company to build the world’s largest solar-thermal power plant in the Australian state.

The Telangana government launched a round-the-clock power supply to the state’s 23 lakh farmers free of cost.

The UK government has approved a plan to build a memorial in London to honour the Indian Sikh servicemen who fought for Britain during WWI and WWII.

The UK’s ban on plastic microbeads used in cosmetics and personal care products came into effect.

The Union Cabinet approved Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Canada for cooperation in field of Science & Technology.

The Union Cabinet cleared a proposal allowing 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in single-brand retail via automatic route.

The Union Cabinet has approved a proposal that government will bear the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) charges on transactions up to Rs 2,000 made through Debit Cards, BHIM UPI or

Aadhaar-enabled payment systems to promote digital transactions. This rule comes into force from 1st January 2018.

The Union Cabinet has decided to fix three-year term of Chairperson and the Members of the board of the National Trust, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

The Union Finance Ministry has launched 7.75% Savings (Taxable) Bonds, 2018 scheme to help citizens invest in a taxable instrument, without any monetary ceiling.

The Union government has approved setting up of the long-awaited Indian Institute of Information

Technology (IIIT) at Raichur (Karnataka). This is 2nd IIIT in Karnataka after one in Dharwad.

The Union Minister for Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan launched India’s fastest and first “multi-petaflops” supercomputer ‘Pratyush’ at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in Pune.

The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation has awarded 325 air routes under the second phase of government’s flagship regional connectivity scheme UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik).

The Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has inked MoU with IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd for construction of the 14.150 km long, 2-lane bi-directional Zojila Tunnel in Jammu & Kashmir.

The Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has signed an MoU with Bihar and Jharkhand for completion of balance works of North Koel reservoir project.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) announced the introduction of Face authentication feature for Aadhaar users by July 1, 2018.

The United States has placed Pakistan on ‘Special Watch List’ for “severe violations” of religious freedom. Pakistan is the only country to be put under the newly-formed list.

The US government has officially shut down after the Senate failed to agree on a bill to fund the government until February 16, causing the fourth government shutdown in 25 years.

The US officially opened its new embassy in London which is believed to be the world’s most expensive embassy.

The Uttar Pradesh Transport Department is going to introduce the Vehicle registration number portability.

This allows the vehicle owners to retain vehicle numbers even if they sell it.

The Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu has released a book titled ‘Staniya Svasasan Mei Addhi Aabadhi’.

This book has been authored by Dr. Sadhana Pandey.

The Vietnam-India Bilateral Army EXercise (VINBAX-2018) was recently held at Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh).

VINBAX-2018 is the first military exercise between India and Vietnam.

Thomson Reuters Corp published its debut “Top 100 Global Technology Leaders” list with Microsoft Corp in the no.

1 spot, followed by chipmaker Intel Corp and network gear maker Cisco Systems Inc.

Three Ministries viz.

Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) and Ministry of Science & Technology have signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for joint funding of

Technology Mission for Indian Railways (TMIR).

To battle sexual harassment, 300 Hollywood celebrities including Jennifer Lawrence and Meryl Streep, have launched a campaign named ‘Time’s Up’.

To boost production of the nutrient-rich millets and the sunrise agri industry, the Indian Government has approved 2018 as National Year of Millets.

To deal with cybercrimes, the Union Home Ministry is going to set up Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), an apex coordination centre in New Delhi.

To explore the sun’s outer atmosphere, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is going to launch Parker Solar Probe in this year 2018.

To help plan traffic flows and optimize freight operations, the Union Ministry of Railways has launched an application titled SFOORTI.

To make learning more interesting, the Centre has decided to launch ‘Operation Digital Board’. This programme will help students view diagrams and presentations through digital tools.

To promote cashless payments, the Indian Railways is going to launch its own debit card in association with State Bank of India (SBI) and Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).

To promote organic farming, the Himachal Pradesh Government has launched Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) project. This project aims to increase agriculture produce and the income of farmers by the year 2022.

To provide information on all central and state government schemes for women, the Women and Child Development Ministry launched a web portal titled NARI. NARI Portal carries details on 350 different schemes and will be updated from time to time.

To provide institutionalized socio-economic security for the workers in the unorganised sector, the Jammu and Kashmir government is set to launch a scheme called “Muhafiz (Guardian)”.

To reduce stress caused by parents over marks, the Madhya Pradesh Education Department has decided to replace marks with smileys in the report cards of Class 1 and 2 government school students.

To solve the various complications faced by the power distribution sector, the India-Japan Smart Grid Pilot Project was inaugurated Panipat, Haryan.

To tackle crimes like cyber threats, child pornography and online stalking, the government is going to set up a Cyber Warrior Police Force (CWPF).

Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedoy has issued an order banning women from driving in the country.

Two Macaque Monkeys have become the first primates to be cloned using the same approach that produced Dolly the sheep, the first mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell. The monkeys were named Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua after their birthplace China (Zhonghua in Mandarin).

Union Minister (Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation) Nitin Gadkari was on a visit to Singapore to inaugurate ASEAN India Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.

Union Minister for Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad was on a 3-day visit to Sri Lanka.

Union Minister Manoj Sinha has announced that the government is going to roll out all 650 branches of India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) by April 2018.

Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri announced the commencement of India’s first-ever ‘Livability Index’ to assess the living standard in 116 cities.

US imaging firm Eastman Kodak has announced its cryptocurrency KODAKCoin.

Valletta, the capital of Malta, was officially named European Capital of Culture 2018.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has announced issuance of over $5.9 billion (₹37,000 crore) in the country’s new oil-backed cryptocurrency in coming days to fight the ongoing economic crisis. Every unit of the cryptocurrency will be equal in value to Venezuela’s one oil barrel.

Veteran India tennis star Leander Paes won his 25th ATP Challenger level doubles title with partner James Cerretani after beating Denis Kudla and Treat Huey in the final of the Newport Beach event.

Virat Kohli has been named the ICC Cricketer of the Year and ODI Cricketer of the Year.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee unveiled the Official emblem of the West Bengal State government. The logo, designed by the Chif Minister herself, highlights the Ashoka emblem on the top with the theme of “Biswa Bangla” at the centre.

West Bengal government has launched a Water ATM project to provide bacteria-free drinking water in schools.

Windies’ all-rounder Kieron Pollard has become the first cricketer to play 400 T20 matches, achieving the feat while playing for Melbourne Renegades against Adelaide Strikers in the BBL.

With USD 1.5 billion worth of loans in 2017, India become top borrower from Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Indonesia stood at second spot with USD 600 million worth loans.

World number two tennis player Caroline Wozniacki won her maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open by beating the world number one Simona Halep.

Dec-2017

Major Current Affairs Highlights of December 2017. These one-liners cover all important International, National, MOUs, Indexes, Banking, Technology, Books & Authors, Committees and Sports affairs of October month (from 1st to 31st December 2017.

1st December 2017 was observed as World AIDS Day with the Theme “Right to “Right to health”.

2nd December 2017 was oberved as International Day for the Abolition of Slavery with the theme “Remember Slavery: Recognising the Legacy and Contributions of People of African Descent”.

3rd December 2017 was observed as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities with the theme “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient society for all”. 52nd Raising Day of Border Security Force (BSF) was observed on 1st December 2017.

5th December 2017 was observe as World Soil Day with the theme “Caring for the Planet starts from the Ground”. 5th December 2017 was observed as International Volunteer Day (IVD) with the theme “Volunteers Act First. Here. Everywhere”.

7th December 2017 was observed as International Civil Aviation Day with the theme ‘Working Together to ensure No Country is Left Behind’.

7th International Ground Water Conference (IGWC-2017) was recently held at New Delhi. Theme of IGWC 2017 : “Ground water Vision 2030- Water Security, Challenges and Climate Change Adaptation”.

9th December 2017 was observed as International Anti-Corruption Day with the theme ‘United against corruption for development, peace and security’.

10th December 2017 was observed as Human Rights Day with the theme “Let’s stand up for equality, justice and human dignity”.

11th December 2017 was observed as the International Mountain Day with the theme “Mountain under Pressure: climate, hunger, migration”.

18th December 2017 was observed as International Migrants Day with the theme”Saf e Migration in a World on the Move”.

24th December 2017 was observed as the National Consumers Day / National Consumers Right Day with the theme “Emerging Digital Markets: Issues & Challenges for Consumer Protection”. A 12-foot-tall bronze sculpture of legendary Argentinian footballer Diego Maradona was unveiled at a club in Kolkata during his visit to the city.

A research institute for the study of ‘Bhagavad Gita’ would soon be set up by CM Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government in Mathura. 1/11

According to the data revealed by the Minister of State (MoS) for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh are the top contributors among states and Union Territories in the first five months of the rollout of the GST regime.

Afghanistan’s Mujeeb Zadran has become the first male cricketer born in the 21st century to play international cricket.

‘Ajeya Warrior- 2017’ aCombined Military exercise between India and the UK was recently held at Mahajan Field Firing Range near Bikaner, Rajasthan.

Afghanistan’s second Vice President Mohammad Sarwar Danish was on a 5 day visit to India.

10 leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will be Chief Guests for India’s 69th Republic Day celebrations.

Ahead of the 25th anniversary of Dialogue Partnership between India and Associatio n of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Delhi has hosted a two-dayASEAN-India Connectivity Summit during 11th and 12th December 2017.

Theme of this Summit : ‘Powering Digital and Physical Linkages for Asia in the 21st Century’.

American comic book publisher DC Comics is going to release a new graphic novel titled ‘I Am Gandhi:

A Graphic Biography of a Hero’ in May 2018. The novel has been written by Brad Meltzer and illustrated by over 20 artists.

An Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) named ICGS Sujay was recently commissioned into Indian Coast Guard (ICG).

Andhra Pradesh Assembly unanimously passed the bill providing 5% reservation for Kapu, Balija Vontari & Telaga communities in education and employment sectors.

Auctioneer Christie’s has confirmed that Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism has acquired the ₹2,900-crore Salvator Mundi painting. This is the world’s most expensive painting ever sold.

Australia beat Argentina to win Hockey World League Final Gold at Bhubaneswar.

India defeated Germany in the final to grab the Bronze medal.

Baba Ramdev promoted Patanjali has been ranked as India’s most trusted Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) brand for the year 2017, according to the BrandTrust Report India Study 2017.

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has received awards for the best player and top scorer in La Liga for the 2016/17 season.

Billionaire Elon Musk-backed digital payments startup Stripe has launched its private beta version in India.

Bitcoin’s rival cryptocurrency Ripple has surpassed Ethereum as the world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation.

Breaking nearly 70-year-old US policy, the US President Donald Trump has officially recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Brussels has lost the right to stage matches at UEFA Euro 2020 following delays in the development of a new stadium.

Budget carrier IndiGo has become the first Indian airline to operate over 1,000 daily flights across its domestic and international network.

Central American country Guatemala has announced that it will move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

Chennai is going to host Jallikattu Premier League, an Indian Premier League-styled event for the bull-taming sport of jallikattu, on January 7. 2/11

China announced plans to set up the world’s biggest carbon market in a move aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

China has successfully launched its second Land Surveying Satellite LKW-2 (also known as Yaogan Weixing-32) into a preset orbit from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi desert.

China opened its first highway with built-in wireless charging systems for electric vehicles in the country’s Shandong province.

Delhi’s Special CBI court has held former Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda, former Coal Secretary HC Gupta, and former Jharkhand Chief Secretary Ashok Kumar Basu guilty of criminal conspiracy in the ₹1.86 lakh-crore coal scam.

Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has launched the UAE’s first astronaut programme.

Ex-US President Barack Obama arrived in India for the first time since leaving White House this year. He is the only US President to visit India twice while holding office.

Former AC Milan and Real Madrid midfielder Kaka, who lifted the 2002 World Cup with Brazil, announced his retirement from football.

Former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav was found guilty in the fodder scam case by a special CBI court in Ranchi .

Former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the cricketer with most fielding dismissals in T20Is.

Formula One team bosses have voted Mercedes’ championship-winning Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton as the sport’s top driver for the fourth successive year.

France has passed a law banning all exploration and production of oil and natural gas by 2040 within the country and its overseas territories. This is world’s first such ban.

Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar launched India’s first-ever mobile food testing laboratory.

Gujarat’s Chief Minister Vijay Rupani inaugurated the 25th edition of National Children Science Congress (NCSC-2017). Theme of NCSC 2017 : ‘Science and Innovation for Sustainable Development’

Haryana shooter Anisa Sayyed won the women’s 25m pistol gold with a new finals national record at the 61st National Shooting Championship Competitions.

Hollywood Actor Vin Diesel has been named the top-grossing actor of 2017 by Forbes, with $1.6 billion in global ticketing receipts from his film ‘The Fate of the Furious’.

India and Afghanistan inaugurated their second air cargo route linking Mumbai and Kabul. The 1st air corridor between India and Afghanistan was launched in June this year to link Kabul and New Delhi.

India and Cuba have signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for enhanced cooperation in the Health Sector.

India and Italy have signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for enhanced cooperation in health sector.

India and United Kingdom (UK) will soon sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Urban Transport sector for cooperation in policy planning, technology transfer and institutional organisation.

India Government Mint (IGM), a unit of Security Printing and Minting Corp of India Ltd has launched India’s first home-grown high purity gold reference standard.