CURRENT AFFAIRS 13-14th Dec., 2014

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CURRENT AFFAIRS 14th Dec., 2014

1. World Trade Organization (WTO)-led Information Technology Agreement (ITA) which was aimed at increasing the scope of the trade pact to guarantee zero-tariff and duty-free trade in hundreds of products was not signed. India opposed the pact due to the fact that the ITA would only benefit a country if its domestic manufacturing was robust.

2. Securities and Exchange Board of India has approached the Reserve Bank of India and ministry of corporate affairs to address impediments to create a vibrant, deep and liquid corporate bond market. It has asked RBI to revise guidelines for private placement by NBFCs and use of capital markets for raising funds through debt and hybrid instruments for banks to meet capital requirements under Basel III norms.

3. Ministry of water resources and Ganga rejuvenation is planning to set up the Ganga Institute of River Sciences at a suitable location of the river. It is part of the governments efforts to clean the polluted river.

4. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a book tittled Born Again on the Mountain by Arunima Sinha. She is the first Indian amputee and first female amputee to climb Mount Everest. The book is about her unforgettable story of hope, courage and resilience.

5. World Development Report 2015: Mind, Society, and Behaviour says that Development policies can become more effective when combined with insights into human behaviour. The report has found that policy decisions informed by behavioural economics have delivered impressive improvements in healthcare and education in parts of India.

CURRENT AFFAIRS 13th Dec., 2014

1. Union Government has approved the proposal to construct a trade centre at Behang in Churachandpur district of Manipur. It would be a entrepôt of India and Myanmar after the agreement on border trade signed in 1995.

2. Ami Bera, the lone Indian-American serving in the Congress and George Holding would be the new co-chairs of the powerful Congressional Caucus on India.

3. According to UN World Economic Situation and Prospects 2015 (WESP) report, the global economy is expected to grow at 3.1 percent in 2015 and 3.3 percent in 2016. Economic growth in South Asia is also set to gradually pick up from an estimated 4.9 percent in 2014 to 5.4 percent in 2015 and 5.7 percent in 2016.

4. Zimbabwe’s Justice Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn in as Vice-President and will succeed the veteran ruler President Robert Mugabe.

5. Ruhi Singh of India won Miss Universal Peace & Humanity 2014 at Beirut, Lebanon. She is the first person to win this pageant from India and she won the pageant among the 145 other countries.