13 December 2017 Current Affairs
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Priyanka Chopra receives Mother Teresa Memorial award
Priyanka Chopra has been honoured with this year’s Mother Teresa Memorial award for social justice. She received the award for her contribution towards lending support to social causes, such as her recent visit to Syria, where she met and interacted with refugee children. She is also UNICEF’s Goodwill Ambassador and is known for supporting various philanthropic activities.
India ranks 100 in global prosperity index
After rising up in the Ease of Doing Business Index, India has upgraded its ranks in ‘The Legatum Prosperity Index 2017’ as well. The index, which offers an insight into how prosperity is forming and changing across the world, ranks India 100th on the list of prosperous countries among 149 countries. Norway heads the ranking, followed by New Zealand, Finland, Switzerland and Sweden.
2nd UNWTO/ UNESCO World Conference on Tourism & Culture held in Oman
The Second UNWTO/UNESCO World Conference on Tourism and Culture: Fostering Sustainable Development, hosted by the government of the Sultanate of Oman, was held in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman on 11-12 December 2017 within the framework of International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.
14th Inclusive Finance India Summit begins in New Delhi
The 14th Inclusive Finance India Summit began in New Delhi to build consensus on strategies and a unified vision for achieving universal financial inclusion in India. The summit offers a platform for a plethora of information to all the thought leaders and industry veterans to debate and discuss the issues and challenges involving the Financial Inclusion in the country.
Rajasthan, first in India to offer e-mail IDs in Hindi
Rajasthan has become the first state in the country to launch free email addresses in Hindi (in Devanagari script) for its residents, as per the state IT department Principal Secretary Akhil Arora. The initiative aims to ensure maximum participation of people towards e-governance and that maximum facilities are available in the vernacular language. The first e-mail ID was created for CM Vasundhara Raje.
Dhammapiya elected New Secretary General of Intl Buddhist
Buddhist monk Dhammapiya from Tripura has been elected as the new secretary general of the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC). He was elected to the post at the second general assembly of the IBC. The IBC is a global Buddhist forum for preservation and development of heritage sites of the religion in India and other parts of the world.
Shubhankar Sharma wins Joburg Open
21-year-old Indian Shubhankar Sharma claimed his maiden European Tour victory in the Joburg Open, in South Africa. He has defeated South Africa’s Erik Van Rooyen. This was a maiden European Tour win for Shubhankar Sharma. He has five victories on the professional tour of India and he now has a European Tour title to add to his list of achievements. England’s Marcus Armitage was the top British finisher in Joburg.
UN releases World Economic Situation and Prospects 2018 Report
The United Nations (UN) has released the World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2018 report in New York. As per the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2018, the current macroeconomic condition offer policy-makers greater scope to address some of the deep-rooted issues that hamper progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. In 2017, World Economic growth reached 3 per cent, the highest growth since 2011. The global growth is expected to remain steady at 3 per cent in 2018 and 2019.
Rohit Sharma becomes 1st batsmen to score 3 ODI double centuries
Indian batsman Rohit Sharma created history on 13 December 2017 by becoming the first batsman in the history of cricket to score three double centuries in one-day internationals (ODI). The ace batsman achieved the feat during India’s second ODI against Sri Lanka in Mohali, Punjab, in which India put up a mammoth score of 394/4 in 50 overs. Sharma’s individual score card read 208 runs in mere 153 balls, which was studded with 13 fours and 12 sixes.
Sri Lanka formally hands over Hambantota Port to China for 99-Year Lease
Sri Lanka formally handed over its southern strategic port of Hambantota to China on a 99-year lease. Two Chinese firms managed by China Merchants Port Holdings Company (CM Port) and Sri Lanka Ports Authority will own port and the investment zone around it. Hambantota port is strategically located right in the middle of vital energy supply lines in the Indian Ocean, connecting the Middle East and East Asia.
Bihar Govt launches Safe City Surveillance scheme for Women Safety
The Bihar government has launched Safe City Surveillance Scheme for checking crime against women. It aims to bring all major public places under watch of close-circuit television (CCTV) cameras and improve overall crime control in the state. The scheme has been launched in a phase-wise manner, will commence from capital city Patna. It has specially launched for checking crime against women.
India’s first Electronic Manufacturing Cluster to be set up in Andhra Pradesh
India’s first Electronic Manufacturing Cluster (EMC) will be coming to Andhra Pradesh. EMC has been designed and developed for providing facilities and amenities for manufacturing mobiles and allied products. The Union Government, through Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeiTY) in 2012 had announced about setting up EMC in India, with grant-in-aid for establishing such clusters.
‘Feminism’: Merriam-Webster’s Word of the year 2017
Feminism’ was on 13 December 2017 named as the Merriam-Webster’s Word of the year for 2017. In the year 2017, searchers for ‘feminism’ increased by 70 per cent over 2016 on Merriam-Webster.com. ‘Feminism’ has also been in Merriam-Webster’s annual Top 10 list for the past few years. ‘Feminism’ has its roots in the Latin language, where it was used for “woman” and “female” in 14th century English.