12 December 2018 - Daily Current Affairs
1. Shaktikanta Das appointed as the new RBI Governor
- Former economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das (IAS officer -1980 batch Tamil Nadu) has been appointed as the 25th governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a period of three years.
- Mr. Das replaces Urjit Patel, who resigned from the central bank.
- He served in various capacities for Indian and Tamil Nadu governments, including as Economic Affairs Secretary of India, Revenue Secretary of India, Fertilizers Secretary of India.
- Mr. Das (63-year) retired as the Economic Affairs Secretary in May 2017.
- Currently, He is a member of the Fifteenth Finance Commission and also represents India at the G-20 in the role of a sherpa.
Know About Shaktikanta Das:
- Mr.Das was schooled at the Demonstration Multipurpose School, Bhubaneswar.
- He obtained bachelor's (BA) and master's degrees (MA) in history from the St. Stephen's College at the University of Delhi.
- He did advance financial management course from IIM Bangalore and development banking and institutional credit from the NIBM.
Note:
- RBI was established during the British rule under the RBI Act, 1934 and commenced its operations on 1st April 1935.
- The Governor of the Reserve Bank of India is the chief executive of India's central bank and the ex-officio chairperson of its Central Board of Directors.
- There are four deputy governors BP Kanungo, N S Vishwanathan, Viral Acharya and Mahesh Kumar Jain.
| RBI Governors | Terms |
| Raghuram Rajan (23rd) | 4th Sep 2013 - 4th Sep 2016 |
| Urjit Patel (24th) | 4th Sep 2016 - 10th Dec 2018 |
| Shaktikanta Das (25th) | 11 December 2018 (incumbent) |
Important Dates
2. 12th December: International Universal Health Coverage Day
- The International Universal Health Coverage Day (UHC Day) is celebrated globally on 12th December.
- The theme for the 2018 UHC Day is "Unite for Universal Health Coverage: Now is the Time for Collective Action".
- The objective of the day to raise awareness of the need for strong and resilient health systems and universal health coverage with multi-stakeholder partners.
Note:
- In 2017 the United Nations proclaimed 12 December as International Universal Health Coverage Day by resolution 72/138.
National Affairs
3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates fourth partner’s forum in New Delhi
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the two-day fourth Partners’ Forum in New Delhi.
- The objective of the conference is to improve knowledge and accountability to accelerate action on women's, children's and adolescent health.
- The Partners’ Forum is a global health partnership (launched - Sep 2005) to accelerate efforts to reduce child and maternal mortality, improve adolescent, child, newborn and maternal health.
- Ministry of health in association with the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child health, PMNCH is hosting the international conference.
- Around 1500 participants from 85 countries are participating in the conference to improve the health and well-being of women, children and adolescents.
- This is the second time India is hosting the Partners’ Forum.
4. UP Govt. decides to establish an umbrella university to be named after late Atal Bihari Vajpayee
- The Uttar Pradesh state cabinet headed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has decided to establish an umbrella university to control all the medical & dental colleges and nursing institutions in the state.
- The university will be named after former Prime minister ‘Late Atal Bihari Vajpayee’.
- It will be quite helpful in controlling the quality of medical education by one syllabus and one education session.
- It will also help in transparency in entrance and examination system.
5. Shi Yomi becomes the 23rd district of Arunachal Pradesh
- Shi Yomi has become the 23rd district of Arunachal Pradesh.
- It was inaugurated by Pema Khandu (Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister) in presence of Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju.
- Two more districts (Pakke-Kesang and Lepa Rada) will be formally inaugurated in the state within taking the total to 25.
- In August 2018, Arunachal Pradesh Legislative assembly has passed Arunachal Pradesh Re-Organisation of Districts (Amendment) Bill, 2018 for the creation of three new districts.
6. Global Nutrition Report: 2018
- As per WHO’s 2018 Global Nutrition Report, India has the highest number of ‘stunted’ children in the world.
- Around third of all stunted children worldwide are to be found in India as per the recently released WHO’s Global Nutrition Report, 2018.
- Stunting among children aged under five has fallen from 32.6% (in 2000) to 22.2% (in 2017).
Note:
- The 2018 Global Nutrition Report shares insights into the current state of global nutrition, highlighting the unacceptably high burden of malnutrition in the world.
- The report is delivered by an Independent Expert Group and guided at a strategic level by a Stakeholder Group, whose members also review the Report.
Banking & Finance
7. RBI Slaps Rs. 1 crore fine on Indian Bank for violating cybersecurity norms
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a fine of Rs 1 crore on Indian Bank for violating cybersecurity norms.
- This action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered by the bank with its customers.
- This penalty has been imposed in the exercise of powers vested in RBI under the provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
International Affairs
8. Israel becomes a permanent member of the financial action task force
- Israel has become a full member (38th-member) of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
- FATF is an international body (established in 1989) to set up to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other threats to the international financial system.
- Now, Israel has taken its place alongside 37 other members including most of the G20.
9. 39th GCC summit and Riyadh declaration
- At the end of the 39th session of the GCC summit (in Riyadh), the council issued the ‘Riyadh Declaration’, which included 72 items covering matters related to the Gulf countries.
- The 40th session of the GCC summit will be held in the UAE.
- The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is a political and economic alliance of six countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) in the Arabian Peninsula
- The GCC promotes economic, security, cultural and social cooperation between the six states and holds a summit every year to discuss cooperation and regional affairs.
Honours & Awards
10. Slain Journalist Khashoggi named Time Magazine’s ‘Person of the Year’
- Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has been named the Time magazine’s ‘Person of the Year’ alongside several other journalists.
- Journalist Khashoggi was murdered in October 2018 at his country’s Istanbul consulate.
Note:
- Times Person of the Year is an annual issue of the United States news magazine Time.
- It features and profiles a person, a group, an idea, or an object that ‘for better or for worse’ has done the most to influence the events of the year".
11. Mary Kom honoured with Meethoileima title
- Manipur Government honoured MC Mary Kom (AIBA World Women Boxing Gold medalist) with the title "Meethoileima" (Outstanding Queen) title at a function held at Khuman Lampak Sports Complex Imphal.
- Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh handed over a cheque of ten lakh rupees to her.
- Mr. Singh also declared that the Imphal West DC Road towards Game Village will be named as MC Mary Kom Road.
