Govt disbursed Rs 36,000 crore to farmers under PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi

NATIONAL NEWS

Govt disbursed Rs 36,000 crore to farmers under PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi

• Around 36 thousand crore rupees have been disbursed under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi.
• Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar said, around seven crores 60 lakh farmers have been benefited under the scheme.
• The government is striving to double the farmer's income by 2022.
• That the Agriculture Export Policy, 2018 strives to increase India's Agriculture and allied exports which in turn would help in achieving the goal of doubling the farmer's income.

Haryana CM inaugurates Integrated Command and Control Centre

• Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has inaugurated Gurgaon's ambitious Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC).
• It has been developed as the nerve centre to provide multifaceted online smart services to people.
• Mr Khattar inaugurated the millennium city's ICCC in presence of Union Minister of State for Statistics and Programme Implementation Rao Inderjit Singh.
• The ICCC has been designed to serve as the nodal point for all online data related to the Smart City applications, including CCTV-based public safety and adaptive traffic management system, smart parking system, water supply management system, pollution monitoring, property tax management system and asset management system.
• The Integrated Command and Control Centre was built at the cost of 38 crore rupees.

Prez Kovind lays foundation stone for Paika Rebellion memorial in Odisha

• President Ram Nath Kovind laid the foundation stone for a memorial to mark completion of 200 years of Paika Rebellion, a valiant uprising of Paikas in 1817 against the British Rule which is often termed as the First War of Independence.
• The proposed project will come up at the foothills of Barunei hills in Khurda district. The memorial is seen as an epitome of Odisha’s valour and will serve as an inspiration for the youth.
• The Paika Rebellion memorial which will come up in 10 acres of land will be a source of inspiration for the youths and generations to come.
• Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan, Union Ministers Pratap Sarangi and Dharmendra Pradhan and other eminent dignitaries were also present during the foundation laying ceremony.

18th India-Myanmar Foreign Office Consultations held in New Delhi

• The 18th round of Foreign Office Consultations between India and Myanmar was held in New Delhi.
• The Indian delegation was led by Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale and the Myanmar delegation was led by Permanent Secretary, U Soe Han.
• The two sides reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations, the status of India’s ongoing projects in Myanmar, capacity building initiatives, bilateral trade relations, border cooperation and plans to enhance implementation of bilateral agreements.
• The Foreign Secretary reiterated the priority India attaches to its partnership with Myanmar, a neighbour and an ASEAN partner which is at the intersection of its Neighbourhood First and Act East policies.
• The Myanmar Permanent Secretary equally reaffirmed the high priority his Government attaches to relations with India, which are based on historic and civilizational contact.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Worldwide arms sales rise by nearly 5% in 2018

• Worldwide arms sales rose by nearly five per cent in 2018. According to a new report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the market is dominated by the United States.
• The turnover of the 100 biggest arms manufacturers came to 420 billion dollars.
• US manufacturers alone accounted for 59 per cent of the market, or a turnover of 246 billion dollars, up 7.2 per cent on the previous year.
• Russia was second in the rankings for arms production, with 8.6 per cent of the market, just ahead of the United Kingdom on 8.4 per cent and France on 5.5 per cent.
• The study did not include China, for lack of sufficient data, but SIPRI estimated that there were between three and seven Chinese businesses in the top 100 arms manufacturers.
• The world's largest arms maker remains the US firm Lockheed Martin, as it has been since 2009. Its turnover last year was 47.3 billion dollars.
• Its sales alone account for 11 per cent of the world market.

Incredible India Road Show to be held in Singapore

• The Incredible India Road Show will be held in Singapore, positioning the country as a preferred destination for tourists.
• India Tourism Office in Singapore the roadshow by Indian delegation will provide a platform to the stakeholders of India's tourism industry to interact with their Singaporean counterparts.
• Indian delegation comprises 25 tour operators and destination management companies along with representations from the state governments of Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.
• A total of 1,75,852 tourists from Singapore visited India in 2017, a growth of 7.4 per cent on the year, said the India Tourism Singapore office.

8th edition of Embassy’s annual film festival inaugurated at Riyadh

• Embassy’s annual film festival titled “Ambassador’s Choice: Screening of Films” saw the popular Hindi film ‘Dangal’ screened at Riyadh, which drew a large number of audiences. The eighth edition of the Embassy’s annual film festival titled “Ambassador’s Choice: Screening of Films” was inaugurated at the auditorium of Embassy of India, Riyadh.
• Member of Parliament and India’s Sherpa to G-20 was present on the occasion as the Chief Guest.
• The inaugural event was attended by a number of Saudi nationals, Ambassadors, other members of diplomatic corps and members of Indian community.
• The twelve-day festival, which is being held from 5th to 18th December, kicked off with the screening of three Arabic short movies titled: ‘The Swan Song’, ‘A Colourful Life’ and ‘Jaleed’, followed by an interactive session with the directors of the respective movies.

BANKING

NTPC signs pact for ₹5,000-crore term loan with SBI

• NTPC has signed a term loan agreement for ₹5,000 crore with State Bank of India.
• That loan facility has been extended at an interest rate linked to 3-month MCLR of the bank and has a door-to-door tenure of 15 years.
• The loan will be utilised to part finance the capital expenditure of NTPC.

APPOINTMENT

Finland elects Sanna Marin, the youngest-ever Prime Minister

• Finland's Social Democrats elected a 34-year-old former transport minister to the post of the prime minister, making her the youngest head of government in the country's history.
• Sanna Marin narrowly won yesterday's vote to replace outgoing leader Antti Rinne, who resigned after losing the confidence of the coalition partner Centre Party over his handling of a postal strike.
• Former PM Antti Rinne had headed Finland's centre-left five-party coalition since June, and Marin's appointment is unlikely to lead to significant policy changes by the Social Democrat-led administration.

SPORTS

Boxing- Joshua reclaims his world heavyweight crown from Andy Ruiz

• Britain's Anthony Joshua reclaimed his world heavyweight crown from Andy Ruiz, outclassing the Mexican-American to score a unanimous points victory.
• Joshua, who suffered a stunning knockout defeat to Ruiz in New York in June, produced a masterclass performance to regain his IBF, WBA and WBO titles in emphatic fashion at Ad Diriyah in Saudi Arabia last night.
• Dominating from the outset, Joshua won by margins of 118-110 on two scorecards with the third judge making it 119-109.
• Billed as the Clash on the Dunes, the eagerly anticipated rematch marked the first time a world heavyweight title fight has been staged in Saudi Arabia.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Israeli high school students to launch self-made satellite from ISRO's Sriharikota

• Three youngsters from an Israeli school will travel to India next week to launch a satellite -- Duchifat 3 -- designed and built by them aboard PSLV C48 from ISRO's Sriharikota launch site.
• Alon Abramovich, Meitav Assulin and Shmuel Aviv Levi, all 17 to 18 years old, are students of Sha'ar HaNegev High school in Israel's southern region.
• They will be leaving for India on Monday evening and the satellite launch is on December 11, 2019.
• Duchifat 3 is the third in the series of Israeli student-made satellites. Jointly built by Herzliya Science Center and Sha'ar Hanegev High School students, the satellite is designed to serve children from across the country to "observe the Earth".

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Anti-Corruption Day

• The United Nations General Assembly on October 31, 2003, adopted the United Nations Convention against Corruption, and designated December 9 International Anti-Corruption Day, in order to raise awareness about corruption and of the role of Convention in fighting and preventing it.
• This convention came into force in the year 2005, and since then the day is being observed annually.
• Theme of the day is, ‘united against corruption.’ The global campaign #United Against Corruption focuses on corruption as one of the biggest obstacles to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).