Current Affairs 24th December 2015

Important Points : 

• Which Telugu actor has Viswanath passed away - Chilukoti Kashi
• Union Government launched two Mobile Apps for - Farmers
• Who has been appointed as India's High Commissioner to Pakistan - Gautam H Bambawale
• Which government has banned 15-year-old diesel vehicles from travelling - Bihar Government
• UN adopted resolution to observe World Tsunami Awareness Day on - 5th November
• Who has been selected for US National Medal of Science 2015 - Indian American Rakesh K Jain
• 2015 OPEC World Oil Outlook released by - OPEC 
• Where did the North India's first cable bridge inaugurated - Basohali town of J&K
• Name the India’s first indigenously designed & built warship which is decommissioned - INS Godavari 
• 30th National Consumers Right Day observed on - 24th December 
• Who has became the third mobile operator to launch 4G services in India - Idea 
• Generic version of hepatitis-C drug Harvoni in India launched by - Biocon 
• The Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Bill, 2015 - Lok Sabha 

Details : 

Which Telugu actor has Viswanath passed away - Chilukoti Kashi

On 22nd December 2015, Chilukoti Kashi Viswanath, Senior Telugu actor and dialogue writer passed away at the age of 69.

About Chilukoti Kashi Viswanath

• In 1966, he joined the Visakhapatnam Port Trust as a clerk. 
• He is a winner of National weightlifter and three time winner of university championships.
• In 1968, he started writing and had written 43 dramas, 28 novels and 122 stories. Apart from this, he has also acted in 37 movies. 
• in the year 1980, he was awarded with the Sahitya Academy award.

Union Government launched two Mobile Apps for - Farmers

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 24th December 2015, Two mobile apps namely Crop Insurance and AgriMarket Mobile were launched by Union Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Minister Radha Mohan Singh for the welfare of farmers.

The apps were launched mark the birth anniversary of Choudhary Charan Singh and former Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee. On this occasion, Kishan Jai Vigyan Week will be organised.

With the help of the Mobile app Crop Insurance, farmers will be able to get complete details about insurance cover available in their area and can also calculate the coverage amount and loan amount in case of a loaned farmer and insurance premium for notified crops.

With the help of the Mobile app AgriMarket Mobile farmers will get the market prices of crops in the mandi within a radius of 50 km of the device. The app uses the mobile GPS to get the location of the person and details of the market prices of crops in that area. 

The apps developed by the IT Division of the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare can be downloaded from mKisan portal or Google Store.  

Who has been appointed as India's High Commissioner to Pakistan - Gautam H Bambawale

Among the important appointments, On 23rd December 2015, Gautam H Bambawale was appointed as the High Commissioner of India to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. At present, he is serving as the Indian ambassador to Bhutan.

Bambawale will replace TCA Raghavan.

About Gautam H Bambawale

• He is a 1984 batch Indian Foreign Service officer.
• From December 2009 to July 2014, he was the Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the Union Foreign Ministry Headquarters.
• In the year 2007, he became the first Consul General of India in Guangzhou, China.

Which government has banned 15-year-old diesel vehicles from travelling - Bihar Government

On 23rd December 2015, Bihar government announced the ban on 15-year-old diesel vehicles to travel in the capital state Patna to overcome the increasing pollution in the state.

The decision came out under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in the meeting of the Environment and forests department. 

On 14th December 2015, the Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB) had sent an advisory to the Chief Secretary stating that the air quality index of Patna has crossed 400 in the period November to December 2015 breaking all the records in the past.

UN adopted resolution to observe World Tsunami Awareness Day on - 5th November

Among the important International Current Affairs, On 22nd December 2015, a resolution was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly to observe World Tsunami Awareness Day every year on 5th November.

This will raise the awareness among the people in the world of the dangers of tsunami and stressing the importance of early warning systems.

After the Third UN Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held in March 2015, Japanese Government first suggested the proposal.

Who has been selected for US National Medal of Science 2015 - Indian American Rakesh K Jain

Among the important International Current Affairs, On 22nd December 2015, Indian American professor Rakesh K Jain was selected for the National Medal of Science 2015 of United States (US). Currently, Jain is serving as a Director of the Tumour Biology Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor at Harvard Medical School.

16 other winners of the National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology and Innovation will also be awarded in 2016 at a ceremony in White House.

About Professor Rakesh K Jain

• He is considered as a pathfinder in the area of tumour micro-environment. He is also known for his seminal discoveries in tumour biology, drug delivery, in bioengineering and vivo imaging.

• He has received 75 awards from engineering and medical professional societies and institutions and is considered as a mentor to more than 200 students.

• He is a member of all three branches of the US National Academies- the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine. 

Do You Know : 

• In the year 1959, the National Medal of Science instituted by statute and the National Science Foundation administers it for the White House.
• The medal is conferred to those individuals who have made remarkable contributions in the field of science and engineering.

• 2015 OPEC World Oil Outlook released by - OPEC 

Among the important International Current Affairs, On 23rd December 2015, the 2015 OPEC World Oil Outlook (WOO) was released by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

According to the report released, by 2040, oil and gas, jointly, are expected to supply around 53 % of the global energy demand.

Where did the North India's first cable bridge inaugurated - Basohali town of J&K

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 24th December 2015, the Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar inaugrated the first cable-stayed bridge of North India to the nation at Basohali: Town located in Kathua district of J&K.

Key details related to Basohli Cable-Bridge

• The bridge is constructed over river Ravi on Dunera- Basohli-Bhadharwah road and has a length of 592-metre.
• The bridge will provide the connectivity between three northern states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. 
• It is first in North India and Jammu and Kashmir and fourth of its kind in India. 
• Border Roads Organization (BRO) at a cost of 145 crore rupees constructed the bridge. 

Other three major cable-stayed bridges in India are : 

• New Yamuna Bridge – Over Yamuna River in Allahabad
• Bandra-Worli Sea Link – Mumbai
• Vidyasagar Setu – Over the Hoogly River in Kolkata

Name the India’s first indigenously designed & built warship which is decommissioned - INS Godavari 

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 23rd December 2015, India’s first indigenously designed and built warship Indian Navy Service (INS) Godavari was decommissioned in Naval Dockyard Mumbai. On 10th December 1983, the bridge was commisioned in Navy.

INS Godavari, was the lead ship of her class of three guided-missile frigates comprising INS Gomati and INS Ganga.

Key features of INS Godavari

• The warships of this class were armed with surface to air guided missiles and potent surface to surface missiles.
• It has the capibility of carrying two Sea King helicopters and was the first in the world in this category.
• The operations in which it was operational are : Patrol of Gulf of Aden (PoG) – 2009, 2011 (anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden), Operation Shield and Operation Bolster - 1994 (de-induction of Indian Army from Somalia) and Operation Jupiter – 1988 (Sri Lanka).

30th National Consumers Right Day observed on - 24th December 

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 24th December 2015, 30th National Consumers Right Day was observed across the country to make every consumer more aware of their rights.

On this day, the Consumer Protection and Action Committee (CPAC) observed the day by conveying consumer rights literature freely to the public and distributing complaints forms and information brochures.

Do You Know : 

On 24 December 1986, since the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was enacted, the day is being observed annually.

Who has became the third mobile operator to launch 4G services in India - Idea 

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 23rd December 2015, Idea Cellular became the third mobile operator to launch 4G services in India across 75 towns in the 4 telecom circles of South India, namely Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh & Telangana and Kerala. Previously, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone India had launched 4G services in the country.

The customers of Idea in the respective towns can now start enjoying the superfast speeds on their 4G enabled devices.

Generic version of hepatitis-C drug Harvoni in India launched by - Biocon 

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 24th December 2015, the generic version of hepatitis – C drug in the Indian market was launched by Biocon Limited. It will be sold under the brand name CIMIVIR-L.

Harvoni is an enhanced version of Gilead’s hepatitis-C drug Sovaldi or sofosbuvir.

Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has reccently approved the sale of ledipasvir-sofosbuvir combination manufactured under a license from Gilead in India.

Do You Know : 

• Hepatitis-C causes liver inflammation which leds to depriciation of liver function.
• According to tan estimate, HCV infection and co-morbidities is the cause of about 100,000 death annually in India.

The Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Bill, 2015 - Lok Sabha 

On 22nd December 2015, The Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Bill, 2015 was passed by the Lok Sabha. With this bill, doubling of wage ceiling for calculating bonus of factory workers will be enabled.

On 7th December 2015, the Bill 2015 was introduced in Lok Sabha. 

Provisions of Bill 

• The limit for payment of bonus has been changed from a salary of 10000 rupees to 21000 rupees. 
• There will be a raise in calculation of ceiling of bonus to 7000 rupees per month or as per the minimum wage notified for the employment under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.