GK and Current Affairs Updates

Incoming United Nations (UN) Chief Antonio Guterres on 15 December 2016 appointed Nigeria's Environment Minister Amina Mohammed as his Deputy Secretary-General.
●    Guterres was recently sworn in as the ninth male UN Chief. 
●    He pledged to reach gender parity among senior leadership within his five-year term. 
●    He will take over from current Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 1 January 2017.
●    On 11 November 2015, Amina Mohammed was appointed as the Minister of Environment of Nigeria.
●    Previously, she served as Founder and CEO of the Center for Development Policy Solutions.
●    She also served as an Adjunct Professor for the Master’s in Development Practice program at Columbia University.
●    Born in 1961, she was the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Adviser on Post-2015 Development Planning. She was appointed to the position on 7 June 2012.
 

Former Information and Broadcasting Secretary Sunil Arora was on 15 December 2016 appointed as the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA).
●    Arora's appointment was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC). 
●    He will serve the  office for a period of five years or till attaining 65 years of age or until further orders, whichever is the earliest. 
●    He is an Indian Administrative Officer (IAS) of 1980-batch of Rajasthan cadre. 
●    Earlier this year, he retired as Information and Broadcasting Secretary.
●    He is presently serving as an Advisor at Prasar Bharati. 
●    At the Centre, he worked in various Ministries such as Finance, Textiles and Planning Commission.
●    He also served as Joint Secretary in Ministry of Civil Aviation during 1999-2002.
●    In Rajasthan, besides district postings in Dholpur, Alwar, Nagaur and Jodhpur, he was Secretary to the Chief Minister during 1993-1998.

In order to call for innovative ideas from all citizens/ sections of the country, the Minister of Railways, Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu in a programme held today i.e. on 14.12.2016 at Rail Bhawan launched a campaign innovation challenges for Indian Railways in line with his Budget Announcement 2016-17.  Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain was especially present on the occasion. Chairman, Railway Board, Shri A. K. Mital, Member Traffic, Railway Board Mohd. Jamshed, other Railway Board Members and senior officials were also present on the occasion at Rail Bhawan.         
●    Hon’ble Prime Minister had launched Innovation Challenge at Rail Vikas Shivir, Surajkund on 20.11.2016. The Challenge is open to all Indian Resident Nationals and Companies/Institutions. 
●    The following five challenges are aimed at promoting innovation in our country by focusing on specific problems being faced by Indian Railways: 
●    Innovation Challenge for ‘Design of Wagons for efficient loading and transportation of new commodities’.
●    Innovation Challenge for ‘Easy Accessibility to Trains from Low Level Platforms’.
●    Innovation Challenge for ‘New Idea/ Suggestion to improve the working of Indian Railways’.
●    Innovation Challenge for ‘Increasing Passenger Carrying Capacity of Coaches of Indian Railways’.
●    Innovation Challenge for Developing New Digital Capabilities at the Stations of Indian Railways’.
 

Signalling a step back from tensions in the past month over the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan, India said there was “no reason” the two countries could not sort out their differences as they have in the past.
●    India had objected to the World Bank’s earlier decision as it said the acceptance of Pakistan’s appeal for an arbitration process under article IX was “illegal”, accusing the World Bank of “favouring Pakistan”. 
●    The strong language of the statement appeared to have weighed with the World Bank, and on December 12, the day its President Jim Yong Kim was due to announce the names chosen for the arbitration panel and as mediator.
●    The World Bank plans to send an expert, Ian Solomon to New Delhi and Islamabad in the next few weeks to discuss the issues for both governments and help restart talks between them.
●    Pakistan did not comment on the World Bank decision against its proposal to bypass the bilateral process.
 
 

Thomas C. Schelling, an economist and Nobel laureate died on 13th December 2016 at his home in Bethesda, Md. He was 95.
●    It was while working as an economist in the Truman administration that Professor Schelling became intrigued by the stratagems and negotiating ploys that he observed in international bargaining. 
●    Professor Schelling analyzed superpower negotiations in the way that he analyzed the conflicts between, say, a blackmailer and his client, a parent and a child, or management and labor. 
●    In each case, he wrote, “there is a mutual dependence as well as opposition,” with each side seeking out tests of strength at less than crisis levels.
●    Schelling was born on April 14, 1921 in Oakland, California.
●    Schelling graduated from San Diego High. 
●    He received his bachelor's degree in economics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1944. 
●    He received his PhD in economics from Harvard University in 1951.

Britain is set to become the first country in the world to legally offer "three-parent baby" fertility treatments after regulators gave the green light.
●    The technique, which uses DNA from two women and a man, would allow mothers who carry disease-causing mutations in their mitochondrial genes to give birth to children free of the illness.
●    British lawmakers had voted in February to allow the treatment, which uses in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), but clinics needed to obtain licences from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).
●    An independent panel of experts last month said the practice should be "cautiously adopted" to prevent certain genetic diseases from being passed on to future generations.
●    Mitochondria are structures in cells which generate vital energy and contain their own set of genes called mDNA which is passed through the mother.
●    Mitochondrial diseases cause symptoms ranging from poor vision to diabetes and muscle wasting, and health officials estimate that around 125 babies are born with the mutations in Britain every year.

The week-long trial of doing away with the stamping of baggage tags at the Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Ahmedabad airports started.
●    But international passengers flying out of these airports need to get handbags stamped, a senior official of the Civil Aviation Ministry said.
●    The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) had initiated a project, in collaboration with the Hyderabad International Airport Limited and the Central Industrial Security Force, for doing away with the stamping of baggage tags in one of the lanes at the Hyderabad airport.
●    After its successful completion, the BCAS has advised to do away with the stamping of hand baggage tags for hassle-free movement of passengers.
●    After the BCAS goes through the outcome of the exercise, the practice will be extended to other airports.
●    The Ministry said high-resolution CCTV cameras and other “appropriate technologies” were used by the airport operators to strengthen baggage screening. 
●    Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju called it a “progressive step” and said it would bring down the time spent at the airports.

The Government has issued the notification for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Pet Shop) Rules, 2016 here today.  
●    In an interaction with media persons here today, the Minister of State (Independent Charge) in Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Anil Madhav Dave said that this is meant to regulate pet shops.  
●    It will be mandatory for all pet shop owners to register themselves with the State Animal Welfare Board of the respective State Governments/Union Territories.
●    Such shops will be registered only after inspection by the representatives of State Board, a veterinary practitioner and a representative of Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
●    The rules define space requirement for birds, cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pig, hamster, rats and mice in the pet shops.
●    It defines the basic amenities, power back-up, general care, veterinary care and other operational requirement for animals kept in pet shops.
●    It is mandatory to maintain proper records of sale, purchase, death of animals in pet shop, sick animals etc.
●    Every pet shop owner is required to submit yearly report to the State Board regarding animals, sold, traded, bartered, brokered, given away, boarded or exhibited during previous year, or any other information asked for by the State Board.

Union Minister of State (IC) for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan and Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, Shri Piyush Goyal presided over the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NTPC Limited and National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), here today. The MoU will facilitate the setting up of a Joint Venture (JV) Company to establish a 2400 MW coal based power project at Gajmara, Dhenkanal, Odisha.
●    Shri Goyal informed that the generated power will be taken by the NALCO as a JV partner for the Brownfield expansion of its 5 lakh tonne Aluminium smelter at Angul and the Greenfield project of a 6 lakh tonne smelter at Kamakhya Nagar, Odisha. The estimated investment in all these projects will be approximately Rs. 36,000 crores.
●    Congratulating the Ministry of Power for executing the long pending project, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan said that after the establishment of this power plant, this less developed region of Odisha would experience the fruits of its own mineral wealth being used for the all-round development of its own people, which was not the case so far. The 2400 MW power plant at Dhenkanal and the increased Aluminium production at Angul and Kamakhya Nagar would fuel industrial growth, in a sustainable manner, that would transform the face of the region in near future, he added.
●    Other dignitaries present at the MoU signing ceremony were Shri Tathagata Satpathy, MP Lok Sabha from Dhenkanal constituency of Odisha, Shri Prafulla Kumar Malik, Minister for Labour & Employees State Insurance, Steel and Mines, Government of Odisha, Shri Gurdeep Singh, CMD, NTPC, Dr. T. K. Chand, CMD, NALCO and other senior officials of the Ministries of Power and Mines.

The launch of last ship of LCU MK IV project, an amphibious ship, today, at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd, Kolkata, marks yet another significant milestone in the annals of the Indigenous Warship design and construction programme of India.
●    The chief guest for the occasion was Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Hon’ble Union Minister of State Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (Independent Charge), Government of India. Rear Admiral AK Verma (Retired), Chairman and Managing Director GRSE and various other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.
●    The Chairman and Managing Director, GRSE Ltd, commenced the proceedings with a formal welcome, which was followed by an address by the Chief Guest.
●    In accordance with traditions, invocation from the Atharva Veda was rendered and the ship was named ‘LCU-L58’. 
●    LCU-L58 is the last vessel in the series of eight Landing Craft Utility Ships being designed and built by M/s GRSE for the Indian Navy.