Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS Update: 28th December, 2016

Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS Update: 28th December, 2016

Viral Acharya appointed as deputy governor of RBI

i.Viral Acharya has appointed by the Government of India as the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). 

ii.He will be joining the ranks of Vishwanathan, S S Mundra, R Gandhi as one of four deputy governors serving under RBI Governor Urjit Patel. 

iii.Mundra and Gandhi had served under former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, while Vishwanathan was appointed during Urjit Patel’s tenure. 

Indian Army partners with IIT Gandhinagar for critical technology requirements

i.Indian Army has inked an agreement with IIT Gandhinagar to set up a research and development (R&D) cell at the IIT campus to identify problems and possible solutions for the Indian Army. 

ii.The agreement also enable the IIT and Indian Army to collaborate in areas including critical technology requirements of Indian Army, sharing of professional and technical knowledge. 

Ministry of Shipping Inaugurates Sagarmala Development Company’s office in New Delhi

i.The Union Minister for Road Transport and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari has inaugurated the Sagarmala Development Company’s office in New Delhi to promote port-led development.

ii.The company would help in structuring activities, bidding out projects for private sector participation, identifying suitable risk management measures for strategic projects across multiple states, regions and obtaining requisite approvals and clearances.

PM Modi lays foundation stone of 900 km Char Dham highway

i.PM Narendra Modi has laid the foundation stone of Char Dham highway development project in Dehradun.  

ii.Char Dham Yatra is an annual pilgrimage to the shrines of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri.

iii. The project includes developing 900 km of National Highways in Uttarakhand at Rs  12,000 crore. The Char Dham project is a tribute to those who lost their lives during Uttarakhand flash floods. 

Govt cancels FCRA licences of 20,000 NGOs for incomplete documentation

i.The Government of India cancelled the Foreign Contribution of Regulation Act FCRA licences of 20,000 out of 33,000 NGOs for violation of laws. 

ii.Only 13,000 NGOs in the country are now legally valid as the licences of 20,000 such organisations have been cancelled for incomplete documentation.On December 15, 7 NGOs, including one run by activist Shabnam Hashmi, were barred by the government from receiving foreign funds after their FCRA licence

Gujarat government announces Biotechnology Policy

i.Gujarat government lead by Vijay Rupani has introduced the  ‘Biotechnology Policy-2016‘ to establish Gujarat as a preferred destination for manufacturing of biotechnology products.

ii.Under the policy, the state government would provide capital subsidy up to Rs 25 crore on the total investment for developing a Biotechnology (BT) Park, said Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel while announcing the policy. 

Nagar Uday Abhiyan launched in Madhya Pradesh

i.CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has launched Nagar Uday Abhiyan rallies across the state. 

ii.In these rallies, urban welfare and other public welfare schemes will be reviewed.

iii. This campaign will be conducted in three phases from December 25 to February 5 to assess services being provided to citizens and bring them at standard live.

Au Financiers gets final nod to start small finance bank operations

i.AU Financiers (India) Ltd  has received the final licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to start a small finance bank, becoming the seventh entity to do so. 

ii.AU Financiers was the only non-banking finance company (NBFC) among the 10 entities to receive in-principle approvals to start small finance banks in September 2015.

Bank of Maharashtra Adopts Village in Sangli for Digital Transactions

i.Pune based public sector lender Bank of Maharashtra, has helped to make the village of Malangaon, in Sangli district, Maharashtra, a completely cashless village. 

ii.Post the announcement of withdrawal of 500 and 1000 currency notes and the push towards a cashless society. 

Paytm launches 100-member merchant helpdesk to educate on digital payments

Mobile payment and e-commerce platform Paytm has announced a 100-member 'merchant helpdesk' and announcing that it will invest Rs 50 crore towards educating merchants on digital payments across the country.

Shinzo Abe becomes first Japanese prime minister to visit Pearl Harbour

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who arrived in Hawaii , will become the first Japanese leader to visit Pearl Harbor. He pay's his respects at the USS Arizona Memorial, the site of the deadly attack that prompted the U.S. entry into World War II.

Tata Motors signs up Akshay Kumar as brand ambassador

i.Tata Motors  announced the appointment of Bollywood film star Akshay Kumar, as the brand ambassador for its Commercial Vehicle Business Unit. 

ii.Indian Cinema's 'original Khiladi' will make his blockbuster entry in this new role at the launch of Tata Motors' latest offering in Commercial Vehicles, slated in January 2017.

ShahRukh Khan Conferred with Honorary Doctorate for promoting Urdu Language

i. Actor Shahrukh Khan has received an honorary doctorate from Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) in Hyderabad for his extraordinary contribution in promotion of the Urdu language and culture through his films.

ii.Chancellor Zafar Sareshwala conferred the 'honorius causa' on Khan and Rekhta Foundation founder Sanjiv Saraf at the sixth convocation of the university, for their contribution in the promotion of Urdu language and culture.

Virat Kohli chosen as captain of Cricket Australia’s ODI team of the year

i.Accolades continue to pour in for India’s dynamic Test captain Virat Kohli, has named skipper of Cricket Australia’s ODI team of the year which also featured young yorker specialist Jasprit Bumrah. 

ii.Kohli, who was earlier also picked captain of the ICC’s ODI team of the year, was preferred over Australia’s Steve Smith. Smith was, however, picked in the ‘All-Star’ team. 

16-year-old Indian shooter equals Rio gold medallist's score

Shooter Pruthviraj Ayachi shot 209.5 in the finals of the junior men's 50 meters Rifle Prone event at the National Shooting Championship, equalling the score of the Rio Olympics' gold medallist.

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