National:
• In a joint press release announcing the meeting between Pakistan NSA Lt. Gen (Retd.) Nasir Khan Janjua and Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretaries Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhury and S. Jaishankar, and other officials in Bangkok.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has released 2 commemorative coins on Dr B R Ambedkar as part of the 125th birth anniversary year celebrations of the architecture of Indian Constitution.
• Indian Railways has flagged off the first inaugural service of the Goa to Mumbai double-decker air-conditioned Shatabdi train.
• A research shows that the health of the majestic Gangotri glacier that feeds the river Ganges has been affected, as the maximum temperature in the region has shot up by 0.9 degree Celsius and snowfall reduced by 37 cm annually.
• The Maharashtra legislature has become the first in the country to launch an online mechanism for its members to send questions and move different motions in the House. In this regard state government has launched a website mls.org.in as part of Digital MLAs initiative in the winter session of state legislature in Nagpur.
• The Supreme Court declined to hear a Bharatiya Janata Party leader seeking to bring the civil code which brings all religious personal laws under one umbrella.
• Union Government has introduced Atomic Energy (Amendment) Bill, 2015 to facilitate and fast track setting up of new nuclear projects in the country.
• Lok Sabha has passed The High Court and the Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2015. The Bill amends the Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1958 and the High Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1954.
• The eighth edition of India-Russia joint naval exercise-INDRA NAVY-15 has begun in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. INDRA NAVY-15 is a bilateral maritime joint naval exercise between the Indian and Russian navies for epitomising the strategic relationship between the two countries.
• Parliament passed the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2015. The bill seeks to amend the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 in order to make cheque-bounce filing of cases more convenient for check payees (person who receives the cheque).
• CAG exposes scam in rice procurement: The report has highlighted massive irregularities in the procurement and milling of paddy for the central pool of the public distribution system that resulted in a loss of at least Rs. 50,000 crore over the past five years.
• The Lok Sabha passed the Indian Trusts (Amendment), Bill 2015 by voice vote. The Bill seeks to amend the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 to remove the archaic provisions from the 133 year old legislation which have no relevance.
• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2015. The Bill seeks to protect the interest of consumers, promote fair play in real estate transactions and ensure timely execution of projects.
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved creation of buffer stock of pulses to deal with wide fluctuation in prices of pulses and check food inflation. The buffer stock will be created by the procurement and would be valid for fiscal year 2015-16.
• Bengaluru based Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has bagged a United States military contract for research and development (R&D) on solar powered micro-grid.
• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval to carry out official amendments in The National Waterways Bill, 2015. The amendments seek to add 106 additional inland waterways as the national waterways based on the recommendations Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture and comments of State Governments.
• The Union Government has declared the recent Tamil Nadu flood as a Calamity of Severe Nature.
• India will be launching six Singaporean satellites weighing a total of around 625 kg on December 16 evening through its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket.
• There are 64 slots for TV channels and 21 radio channels in Doordarshan’s free-to-air Direct-to-Home (DTH) service ‘DD Free Dish’, Lok Sabha was informed.
• The latest data show that 39 per cent of children under five in India are short for their age (stunted). The two States that had the worst stunting rates in 2005-06 â Uttar Pradesh and Bihar â have made the least progress over the 2005-2014 period, noted the Global Nutrition Report, the first of its kind to be released. The global rate is 24 per cent.
• Chennai’s resilience to the recent deluge has taken a severe beating as nearly a quarter of its wetlands, open space and flood plains have given way to concrete structures. Months before the series of depressions and “freak” weather developments hit the city, researchers at the Centre for Ecological Sciences in the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, tabulated the “worrisome” growth patterns of the coastal city.
• Union Government has imposed anti-dumping duty on import of cold-rolled flat products of stainless steel for 5 years from 7 countries.
• Two Indian cities for first time have been designated as members of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network (UCCN). Two cities are: Varanasi and Jaipur.
• Bihar will use social network Facebook to help students appearing for the Class X examinations, to solve their doubts and questions and communicate vital information for stress-free preparation.
• Ground breaking ceremony of 1800-kilometre-long Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project was held at the ancient city of Mary of Turkmenistan.
• The festival of Losar has begun in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir to mark the beginning of New Year in this Himalayan region.
International:
• Canada has successfully sent the first consignment of 250 tonnes of uranium to India as part of bilateral civil nuclear cooperation between both countries.
• Opposition Centre-right Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) coalition has won the 2015 Parliamentary elections of Venezuela. The MUD coalition won at least 99 seats in the 167-seat legislature of the National Assembly by defeating ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) led by President Nicolás Maduro.
• The Chinese government has issued its first red alert on pollution (smog) it its Capital Beijing due to hazardous air quality caused by severe air pollution.
• The fifth edition of ‘Heart of Asia’ conference, an annual regional gathering of Asian and other countries commenced in Islamabad Pakistan.
• Iran has successfully carried out test of medium range Ghadr-110 ballistic missile near the Chabahar, a port city in southeast of country along the Gulf of Oman.
• Time magazine has named German Chancellor Angela Merkel as Person of the Year 2015.
• India and Pakistan have agreed to resume structured dialogue between them through new 10-point Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue (CBD).
• Israel has successfully tested Arrow ballistic missile Weapon System as part of its defence upgrade measures in the face of regional threats.
• Mauricio Macri of Republican Proposal Party (RPP) has been sworn in as new President of Argentina after taking oath in the Congress.
• India and South Korea have inked a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) on suspension of collection of taxes during pendency of mutual agreement procedure.
• India and Japan on signed an agreement to amend the convention for double taxation avoidance and prevention of evasion of income tax. The existing convention was signed way back in 1989.
• Bangladesh lifted the ban on Facebook, three-weeks after it blocked the popular social networking site following Supreme Court ruling upholding death penalty of two opposition leaders convicted for war-crimes committed during 1971 independence war against Pakistan.
• Pakistan successfully test-fired the medium-range Shaheen-III surface-to-surface ballistic missile which can carry nuclear warheads within a range of 2,750 km.
• India and Japan have inked fourteen agreements in various fields to enhance bilateral co-operation between both countries.
Business:
• The World Bank has launched a $500 million dollars Transformative Carbon Asset Facility (TCAF) to help developing countries pay for emission reductions and combat climate change.
• Singapore has replaced Mauritius as the top source of foreign direct investment (FDI) into India during the first half of the current fiscal year 2015-16.
• Vodafone India entered the 4G services arena, starting with Kochi, as it looks to take on market leader Bharti Airtel and the upcoming launch by Reliance Jio Infocomm.
• With 17 of the 22 industry groups in the manufacturing sector showing a positive growth, the industrial output in October recorded a five-year high of 9.8 per cent year-on-year.
Sports:
• Australia has won the 2014-15 Men’s Hockey World League Final by defeating Belgium.
• A male runner, 33, died while participating in a marathon event in China’s Shenzhen city. The runner surnamed Yao collapsed just 400 metres from the finish line in the 13.1-mile half marathon race.
• FIFA has signed an eight-year partnership deal with Alibaba E-Auto for the Club World Cup, reflecting China’s vast marketing potential.
• The government has constituted a team which will assist in policy formulations for creating an ecosystem for startups.
• Ravichandran Ashwin’s five-wicket haul to trounce a defiant South Africa by a record margin of 337 runs on the fifth day of the fourth and final Test at the Ferozeshah Kotla.
• Amla’s strike rate of 10.24 (25 in 244 balls) was the slowest in Tests for an innings spanning a minimum of 200 deliveries.
• Pune and Rajkot have become the new interim franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL) through the reverse bidding process.
• World number one women shuttler Carolina Marin from Spain has won the 2015 Female Badminton Player of the Year award.
Science:
• Scientists have genetically modified malaria-causing mosquito Anopheles gambiae species to fight the deadly disease of malaria. The research was successfully carried by team of researchers led by London based Imperial College and was published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
Day of the Month:
• Human Rights Day (HRD) is marked annually on 10th December to commemorate the day in 1948 when the United Nations (UN) adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The theme chosen for the year 2015 HRD is ‘Our Rights.
Awards:
• Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet (NDQ) has been awarded prestigious 2015 Nobel Peace Prize at a ceremony held in Oslo, Norway.
• Salman Rushdie is this year’s recipient of the Mailer Prize for lifetime achievement. The author of Midnight’s Children, The Satanic Verses and other novels was presented his award by Laurie Anderson at a ceremony at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, the New York City borough where Norman Mailer was raised and lived off and on until his death in 2007.
• Veteran Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah has been honoured with the lifetime achievement award at the 12th edition of Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF).
• Legendary actor Dilip Kumar (93) has been conferred with the prestigious Padma Vibhushan, country’s second highest civilian award.
• Indian-origin writer Jamaludeen Mohamed Sali from Singapore has been awarded prestigious 2015 South East Asia Write Award.
New Appointments:
• Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has appointed senior IPS officer Ahmad Javed as India’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. His appointment will fill the vacancy of the post of Ambassador in Indian Embassy in Riyadh since April 2015 after retirement of Hamid Ali Rao.
Current Affairs: 15th December, 2015 Current Affairs: 14th December, 2015 Current Affairs bullet points Round up 1st to 6th December, 2015 Current Affairs Round up November, 2015.
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