Important Current Affairs 22th December 2018

(National News)

National Mathematics Day 

India celebrated 22nd December 2018 as the National Mathematics Day honouring the 131st birth anniversary of famous Indian Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. Since 2011, 22nd December is celebrated as National Mathematics Day every year. The Indian government had also declared 2012 as the National Mathematics year. The National Mathematics Day is celebrated to honour his contribution to the field of Mathematics and also to keep his legacy alive to inspire the future mathematicians.

NITI Aayog releases Sustainable Development Goals Index 

The NITI Aayog has released a first-of-its-kind Sustainable Development Goals index released on 21st December 2018. According to the SDG Index, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu have been ranked on top 3 positions and are on track to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

The recently released Sustainable Development Goals Index aims to promote healthy competition among States by evaluating their progress in social, economic and environmental terms that will help India in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by 2030.

Tata Motors partners with Zoomcar to deploy Tigor EVs in Pune 

Tata Motors has partnered with self-drive rental car firm Zoomcar to offer the electric version of its compact sedan Tigor in Pune city as part of the shared mobility plans. Under the partnership, Zoomcar expects to deploy 500 electric vehicles in over 20 cities with Tata Motors in the next one year. Tata Motors is committed to the Centre’s vision of driving electric mobility in the country.

Gujarat tops government's first-ever state startup rankings 

Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has awarded Gujarat as the best performer in Start-up Ranking 2018. Other states ranked top performers were Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, and Rajasthan. The laggards in the list of performers, categorised as ‘beginners’ include Chandigarh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim, and Tripura. ‘Emerging’ States, placed at a notch higher than the beginners include Assam, Delhi, Goa, Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand.

10 Central Agencies authorised by Government to snoop on “any” 

The Union government has notified 10 Central Agencies giving them the power to intercept, monitor and decrypt all the data contained in “any” computer system in India. The Cyber and Information Security Division under the Home ministry issued this notification.

The 10 agencies authorised by the central government are the Intelligence Bureau, Narcotics Control Bureau, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, CBI, National Investigation Agency, Enforcement Directorate, Central Board of Direct Taxes, Research and Analysis Wing, Directorate of Signal Intelligence (in Jammu & Kashmir, the North-East and Assam) and the Delhi Police.

(International News)

US Defence Secretary James Mattis resigns from his post

The United States Defence Secretary James Mattis has resigned from his post on 21st December 2018. His resignation came after his disagreement with the US President Donald Trump over the withdrawal of US troops from Syria. James Mattis, however, will be occupying the position till February 28 so as to allow sufficient time for his successor to be nominated.

(Awards News)

Mamata Banerjee awarded the Skoch CM of the Year Award 

The Chief Minister of West Bengal has been awarded the Skoch Chief Minister of the Year Award for the year 2017. The award was given to Mamta Banerjee recognising her contribution in the overall development of West Bengal as West Bengal emerged as the best-performing state in the field of Governance. According to Skoch Group, Mamata Banerjee was chosen for the prestigious award keeping in mind the West Bengal’s  performance in governance, culture, finance, urban and rural development.