Important Current Affairs 25th December 2018

National News

‘Bharat Ratna Atal Bihar Vajpayee International Schools’ 
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has launched the ‘Bharat Ratna Atal Bihar Vajpayee International Schools’ for students in rural areas on the occasion of 94th birth anniversary of the late prime minister Atal Bihar Vajpayee. Initially, 13 Zilla Parishad (ZP) schools would be part of the international board and it would be expanded in the coming years.

Bharat Ratna Atal Bihar Vajpayee International Schools
The schools are affiliated to the Maharashtra International Education Board (MIEB), set up by the state government with an aim to achieve higher education standards.

Haryana: Child Care Institutes being run in the state renamed as ‘Jagannath Ashrams’
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on 25th December 2018 has announced the renaming of Child Care Institutes being run in the state as Jagannath Ashrams. The announcement was made by the chief minister at the during a dance competition organised by women wing of All India Vaish Federation.

Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines [Amendment] Rules), 2018
Ministry of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has released draft Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines [Amendment] Rules), 2018.

About
•    The social media platforms are also required to trace out the originator of information on its platform as may be required by the government agencies if the authorised functionaries demand so.
•    Social media platforms are required to end the complete encryption system and remove any “unlawful content” for the sake of the country’s security.

Sadaiv Atal dedicated to the Nation
Sadaiv Atal, the Samadhi of Atal Bihari Vajpayee was dedicated to the Nation on the birth Anniversary of the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

To emphasise on the unity in diversity, stones from various parts of the country have been used in the construction of Samadhi near Rajghat in New Delhi.  The Samadhi has a central platform comprising of nine square blocks, capped with a Diya in the centre. The number nine represents the navarasas, navaratras and navagrahas. The placement of the nine square blocks is in a circular lotus shaped pattern.

B V P Rao elected as president of Archery Association of India
B V P Rao was elected as the President of Archery Association of India(AAI),the election was held under the Supervision of former Chief Election Commissioner S. Y. Quraishi. Maha Singh was elected as secretary of Archery Association of India,D K Vidyarthi was elected as the treasurer. Sunil Sharma was elected senior vice-president and Rajendra Singh Tomar and Purnima Mahato will be the vice presidents.

Seven day 37th Senior National Rowing Championship held in Pune
The seven days 37th Senior National Rowing Championship concluded at Army Rowing Node, College of Military Engineering in Pune. The competition consisted of categories of: 2000 meters and 500 meters. It was inaugurated by Lt General Michael Mathews. The Army Team emerged as the champions in 2018 and was followed by the Services team that came in second.

Delhi records 2nd Highest Pollution Level in 2018
Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed the overall air quality index (AQI) at ‘severe’ level of 450, the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting (SAFAR) showed a higher level at 471. This is the second highest pollution level this year. The highest was recorded on November 8, a day after Diwali, when the AQI touched 571. An AQI between 100 to 200 comes under the 'moderate' category, 201 and 300 is considered 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', while that between 401 and 500 is 'severe'.
 

Awards

Mohammed Rafi Awards conferred
Mohammed Rafi Award instituted by the NGO Spandan Arts was bestowed upon late music composer Laxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar and playback singer Usha Timothy.
The Mohammed Rafi Lifetime Achievement Award consisting of Rs 1 lakh and a trophy was conferred to Laxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar. The Mohammed Rafi consisting of Rs 51,000 and a trophy was conferred to Usha Timothy.