16-17 December 2018 - Daily Current Affairs

Belgium (Olympic silver medallists) has won the FIH Hockey World Cup 2018 for the first time after defeating the Netherlands 3–2 in the final on a penalty shoot-out.
Both the teams, goalless at full time, were at level 2-2 after five penalties.
Defending champions Australia won the third-place match by defeating England 8–1.

Note:

The 2018 Men's Hockey World Cup was the 14th edition of the Hockey World Cup for men's national field hockey teams organized by the FIH.
It was held at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, India. (from 28 November to 16 December 2018).

Ace Indian shuttler P V Sindhu has lifted the prestigious season-ending World Tour Finals trophy at Guangzhou, China.
She defeated Japan's Nozomi Okuhara 21-19, 21-17 in the summit clash.
The Badminton Association of India (BAI) has also announced a cash reward of 10 lakh rupees for P V Sindhu for winning the women’s singles championship.
BAI has also announced a cash reward of 3 lakh rupees for Sameer Verma who reached the semi-final in his maiden appearance at the World Tour Finals.

Steel Authority of India’s (SHA)Hockey Academy beat Army XI Danapur to clinch the All India Aga Khan Gold Cup hockey tournament in Pune.
All India Aga Khan Gold Cup Hockey Tournament-2018 (115th) held at Major Dhyan Chand Hockey Stadium, Pune.
This year, SHA (SAIL’s Rourkela Steel Plant) also won the Shri Nawagarh Trophy All India invitation Hockey Tournament and 8th Vinod Khandekar Under 21 All India Gold Cup Hockey Tournament.

Sports Minister Col Rajyavardhan Rathore flagged off a special marathon 'Soldierathon' at JLN Stadium in New Delhi.
The marathon was organised in the honour of Martyrs and wounded Soldiers.
With over 12 thousand participants, the marathon was held in five categories.
The proceeds from the event will be donated to Indian Army’s Artificial Limb Centre for wounded soldiers to help them acquire state-of-the-art prosthesis at the Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre.

Today, The 37th Senior National Rowing Championship has started in the Army Rowing Node in Pune.
Around 500 rowers and coaches from various rowing associations across the country will take part in the Championship.
The Rowers for the World Championships-2019 will be selected from this event.
World Championship -2019 is the first qualifying Championship for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu flagged-off a car rally for Parliamentarians in New Delhi.
The objective of the rally is to promote awareness among the people on road safety and responsible driving.
On this occasion, Mr Naidu also paid floral tributes to former Parliamentarians who lost their lives in road accidents.

Vijay Diwas is commemorated every 16th December in India, as it marks its military victory over Pakistan (in 1971) during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
On 16^th December 1971, Lieutenant General AAK Niazi (chief of Pakistani forces), along with 93 thousand troops, surrendered to the allied forces, comprising the Indian Army and the Mukti Bahini.
Bangladesh is also celebrating its Victory Day.
This day is a special occasion for the Mukti Jodhdhas who recall their own heroic exploits and also that of their Indian comrades in arms like Albert Ekka during the nine-month-long Liberation War of Bangladesh.
The Surrender of Pakistan Armed Forces marked the end of the Bangladesh Liberation War and the creation of Bangla Desh.

Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot (67 years) sworn-in as the new chief minister of Rajasthan at a ceremony in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh administered the oath of office to Gehlot at the Albert Hall, Jaipur.
Rajasthan state Congress president Sachin Pilot was sworn in as deputy chief minister.
Mr. Gehlot was first-elected to Parliament in 1980 and went on to win Lok Sabha elections four more times.
He has represented the Sardarpura assembly constituency Since 1999 winning five consecutive terms in the House.

Note:

Indian National Congress (INC): 99, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP): 73, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP): 6 and Other parties: 21.

Veteran Congress leader Kamal Nath sworn in as the 18th Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.
Governor of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh Anandiben Patel administered the oath ceremony at the Raj Bhavan, in the state capital Bhopal.
Mr. Kamal Nath is also the chief of Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC).

Note:

Indian National Congress (INC): 114, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)- 109, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), 2, Samajwadi Party-1 and Independents (IND)-4.

Chhattisgarh Congress president Bhupesh Baghel (57-years) sworn-in as the new chief minister of Chhattisgarh.
Governor of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh Anandiben Patel administered the oath ceremony at the Raj Bhavan, in the state capital Raipur.
Baghel is an experienced administrator who was a minister during undivided Madhya Pradesh and later in Chhattisgarh in Congress government.
The Indian National Congress won 68 seats against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's 15, JCC(J)- 5 and BSP-2.

National Affairs

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal dedicated India’s first Railway University to the nation in Vadodara, Gujarat.
The Railway University is the first of its kind institution in the nation and the third in the world after Russia and China.
The first batch of the university has already been shortlisted and consists of 103 students (62 for BSc in Transportation Technology and 41 in BBA in Transportation Management).
Ministry of Railways has sanctioned 421 crores rupees for this university and its curriculum development for the next five years.
The chairman of Railways Board Sh. Ashok Lohani has been named the Vice Chancellor of the University.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has inaugurated the 'Hyderabad book fair' at NTR stadium in Hyderabad.
Mr Naidu said publications and the newspaper sector should try to gain new readers at a time when the reading habit was declining due to the spread of the internet and TV.

According to Cyclone Warning Centre, Visakhapatnam, A deep depression in the Bay of Bengal has intensified into a cyclonic storm named ‘Phethai'.
The cyclonic storm is very likely to hit Andhra Pradesh’s coast and cross evening between East Godavari and North coastal districts.
The cyclone located about 775 km from Chennai and 870 km from Machilipatnam of Krishna district, moving with a speed of 11 km per hour towards Andhra Pradesh.
The Cyclone Phethai will further intensify into a 'severe cyclonic storm' with winds of up to 80-110 kmph.