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• On 22nd December 2018, India celebrated National Mathematics day honouring the 131st birth anniversary of Great Indian Mathematician Srinivasan Ramanujan. India celebrate 22nd December as National Mathematics day every year.


• Ramanujan was born in 1887 and compiled nearly 3900 results mostly identities and equations.


• The Number 1729 is known as Hardy-Ramanujan Number.

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• A Recent Bank robbery in the world's northernmost settlement in the Arctic Circle is believed to be the first in the territory in living memory.


• The police said the suspect was caught soon after the robbery, which took place on Norway's archipelago of Svalbard. The suspect was a foreigner travelling in the region.

Source: Cick Here

• Pakistan Prime Minister's Office said During a telephonic conversation with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Pakistan PM Imran Khan said that Kashmir is not a "bilateral issue between Pakistan and India, but an internationally recognised dispute".


• He also proposed to appoint a Special UN Representative for the resolution of the Kashmir issue.

Source: Cick Here

• The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) constituted a Logistics Development Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. Bibek Debroy, Chairman EAC-PM.


• Other members of the committee included Secretaries and heads of the concerned departments/ministries such as Revenue, Commerce, Logistics, DIPP, Civil Aviation, Shipping, Road Transport & Highways, Railways, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) etc.


• The committee would be working on challenges in logistics development and associated commerce and suggest policy reforms for ease of doing trade in India.

Source: Cick Here

• National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation (NBCFDC), an autonomous corporation under Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with BSE Institute Ltd. for facilitating Skill Development Training to the target group of NBCFDC.


• The BSE Institute Ltd, which is a 100% subsidiary of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE Limited), works as a promoter of Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) Sector Skill Council of India constituted under the aegis of Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) which is a nodal body for industry interface and MSDE.


• The MoU was signed between Sh. K. Narayan, MD of NBCFDC and Sh. Ambarsh Dutta, MD & CEO of BSE Institute Ltd in the presence of Shri Vijay Sampla, Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment.


• The training for the said target group will be commenced in current financial year at select locations and expanded on a pan India in the coming years.


• NBCFDC facilitate Skill development training to Other Backward Classes (OBC), Economically Backward Classes (EBCs), Denotified Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (DNTs) and senior citizens under its “Skill Development Training Programme (SDTP)” so that eligible members may engage in developmental activities by way of self/wage employment.

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• Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, Environment and Forests & Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the newly constructed International Training Centre for Operational Oceanography (ITCOocean) Complex in the INCOIS campus at Hyderabad, Telangana.


• He dedicated the ITCOocean to the Former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee and named the academic building as Atal Bhavan and the Guest House as Atal Atithi Griha.


• This UNESCO category 2 centre was established by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Govt. of India earlier in 2013 but it upgraded to assist UNESCO and its Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC).


• It will help in providing capacity building and training activities in operational oceanography.


• It will thus benefit the South Asian and African states bordering the Indian Ocean and the small island nations in the Pacific from INCOIS’ ocean science and management practices.

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• Three day annual conference of Directors General of Police (DGPs) and Inspectors General of Police (IGPs) commences at a tent-city set up near the Statue of Unity at Kevadiya in Narmada District of Gujarat. The three day annual conference concluded on 22nd December 2018.


• The top police officers of the country will meet for multiple sessions of discussions on issues concerning the country including militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, cross border terrorism, attempts to radicalize youth, Naxal menace and the situation in the Northeast.


• Issues including communal tension, circulation of communally sensitive news and pornographic materials through social media are also expected to be discussed at the three day meeting.


• The Annual Conference was held in the presence of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

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• Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das announced a Rs 2250 crore scheme named as “ Mukhya Mantri Krishi Yojana” which will help around 22.76 lakh medium and marginal farmers to double their income by 2022. The Central Government has set a goal to double the income of all the farmers by 2022.


• The Scheme will start from 2019-20 financial year. It will help farmers to procure seeds, fertilisers and other requirements for agricultural purposes.


• Under the scheme, the state government will give Rs 5000 per acre up to maximum of 5 acre to 22.76 lakh medium and marginal farmers.


• Those farmers who have less than 1 acre land will also get Rs. 5000.

Source: Cick Here

• From First Week of January 2019, the three state level campaign on “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” will be organized in Maharashtra, Goa and Dadra & Nagar Haveli to spread awareness among people to save and educate girls.


• The Campaign will be Organized by the Pune office of Regional Outreach Bureau, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India in coordination with Women and child development departments of respective state and Union Territory (UT).


• The campaign was launched by Ms. Gauri Gadgil who is a ‘divyang’ child and an international swimmer by placing her fingers on traditional instrument ‘Dholak’.


• An orientation cum workshop on the flagship project was organized for Private Registered Cultural Troupes (PRTs) in Pune.

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• India achieved another milestone when Indian Stock market overtakes Germany for the first time in seven years to become the world’s seventh largest stock market.


• This move reflects India’s positive returns this year as companies dependency on domestic demand enabled them to avoid meltdown in other emerging markets spurred due to U.S. – China trade war.


• South Asian Giant, India is projected to grow at 7.5 percent in 2018 and 7.3 percent in 2019 whereas Germany managed to achieve a growth rate of only 1.6 percent in 2018.


• After the exit of United Kingdom from European Union, now European Union has only one country in top seven economies of the world – France.

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• According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, the country’s foreign exchange reserves declined by USD 613.9 million to USD 393.12 billion in the week that ended by December 14, on account of a fall in foreign currency assets.


• The reserves had increased by USD 16.6 million to USD 393.734 billion in the previous week while in the reporting week, foreign currency assets, a major component of the overall reserves, dropped by USD 631.6 million to USD 367.865 billion.


• The foreign currency asset is expressed in US dollars and includes the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies such as the euro, pound and yen held in the reserves.


• In the week to April 13, 2018, the reserves had touched a record high of USD 426.028 billion and it has been degrading since then and is now down by over USD 31 billion.


• As per the data, the gold reserves rose by USD 37.2 million to USD 21.187 billion in the reporting week.

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• Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) released the Global football ranking topped by Belgium who have 1727 points as per FIFA calculations. So Belgium is going to end the year as No. 1 ahead of World Champion France.


• France ranked 2nd with 1726 points and Brazil ranked third with 1676 points.


• India ranked at 97th Position in the latest FIFA ranking released on 20th December 2018.

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• International Cricket Council (ICC) Dispute Resolution Panel ordered Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to pay 60% of the cost demanded by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after the world body’s rejection of PCB’s claim of compensation which blamed India for the lack of bilateral series between the two nations.


• The ICC’s Panel ordered PCB to pay the BCCI 60% of the claimed cost and 60% of the administrative costs and expenses of the ICC Panel.


• BCCI has to pay 40% of the administrative costs and expenses of the ICC Panel.

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• China launched its first communication satellite, from a Long March 11 carrier rocket, to provide broadband internet services worldwide to rival Google and other firms.


• It is the first in the Hongyun project planned by China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC).

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• The book “A Rural Manifesto – Realising India’s Future through her Villages” authored by BJP MP Varun Gandhi was released in Bengaluru.


• The book focuses on challenges faced by farmers, labourers, student and teachers in villages across the country.

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• Noted Tamil writer and Sahitya Akademi award winner Prabhanjan died due to Cancer at the age of 83 in Puducherry.


• Prabhanjan started his career as a Tamil Teacher and got Sahitya Akademi Award for his historic novel “Vaanam Vasapadum” in 1995.