United Nations Public Service Award and New India Assurance plans gk

United Nations Public Service Award 2014

• Indias new external affairs minister--Sushma Swaraj
• new Union Minister for Water Resources , River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation--Uma Bharti
• Ministries of Urban Development and Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation--Venkaiah Naidu

Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and Bollywood heartthrob Shahrukh Khan are among the 100 most "obsessed-over people" on the web, according to a list compiled by Time magazine.

India’s Mobile Governance Initiative (Mobile Seva) bags United Nations Public Service Award for 2014.

General insurer New India Assurance plans to open its Middle East hub in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) as part of a strategic move to enhance its footprints in the region.

Former Parliamentary Affairs Minister and senior Congress leader Kamal Nath will be the Protem Speaker in the new Lok Sabha.

President Barack Obama has said that the US will reduce its troops to 9,800 in Afghanistan by the end of this year before a complete withdrawal takes place by the end of 2016.

India has figured among the top 10 markets for the international business community, as per Australia's International Business Survey.

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan has picked up 1.1 lakh shares of brokerage house Stampede Capital Ltd for an estimated ₹1.21 crore.

Current affairs 16 December 2012

National

Direct benefit transfer system launched in Delhi

United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi has launched the Delhi government’s ambitious food

security programme, ‘Dilli Annshree Yojana’, a direct benefit transfer system and described it as a first-of-itskind

food security scheme integrated with the UID Aadhar in the country. The scheme, under which a

monthly cash subsidy of Rs. 600 will be directly transferred to the bank account of the seniormost female

member of 2 lakh poor families, will help eradicate hunger from the country. Delhi government had decided

to provide assistance to 25 lakh people under the first phase. The purpose of this scheme, is to make sure

that the government’s money being disbursed in pension, scholarship, MNREGA wage payment and social

benefit schemes reached the beneficiaries directly, without any delay.

K.U stops screening of documentary film 'Ocean of Tears'

Kashmir University authorities has stopped the screening of a film titled 'Ocean of Tears' which contains

heart-rending visuals of conflict victims and holds the Army and paramilitary responsible for human rights

abuses in Kashmir. However, the documentary of 27-minute duration, made in Kashmiri and English, has

been funded by subsidiaries of the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), and has also been

certified as legitimate by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas to be held in Kochi

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Kochi on January 8. About

1,500 delegates from various countries would attend the three-day programme. Mauritius President

Rajkeswur Purryag would be the chief guest at the official inaugural session.

International

UN’s World Conference on Internet and Telecommunications (WCIT)

In a sensational development that impacts the Internet, a group of mainly African nations moved and won a

resolution accompanied by a set of binding treaty-based International Telecom Regulations (ITRs) at the

UN’s World Conference on Internet and Telecommunications (WCIT) in Dubai. The move was supported by

China, Russia and mostly Arab states. 89 countries had endorsed the global treaty on telecom regulations,

with nearly 45 nations led by the United States, the U.K., the European Union, Japan, Australia and even

Kenya, either refusing to sign or buying time to study the proposals. India, which initially backed the ITRs

and the accompanying resolution during a sudden vote, later announced that it would sign the Treaty only

after consultation with domestic stakeholders. Governments do not have to sign immediately and have until

January 1, 2015 to ratify the Treaty. Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim, Director General of the Telecom

Regulation Authority of UAE is the chairman of WCIT.

Former KGB agent receives largest pay-off in Russian corporate history

A former KGB agent, who served as the chief executive of a Russian mining group would be receiving a 100

million dollar golden parachute pay-off, which would be the largest pay-off in the country''s corporate history.

Vladimir Strzhalkovsky will receive the money for his part in bringing to an end a 1.4 billion dollar dispute

between Oleg Deripaska and Vladimir Potanin over rights at Norilsk that saw Chelsea FC owner Roman

Abramovich help to referee a deal between the Russian oligarchs. Potanin, who become chief executive of

Norilsk, the world''s largest producer of nickel and palladium. Severance payments have never exceeded 20

million dollars in Russia before. The largest ever golden parachute was awarded to John Welch, the former

chief of General Electric. Welch received more than 400 million dollars, according to GMI Ratings.

Third mission in Sittwe

India will open a consulate at Sittwe, a sea port on the Myanmarese flank of the Bay of Bengal, becoming

the first country to have three missions in the country. China and India have their embassies in the national

capital and consulates in Mandalay. Sittwe port, about 550 km from Kolkata, is slated to see considerable

Indian activity soon after it becomes the mouth of a maritime-cum-road route to India’s North-East as an

alternate to India’s sole link to the region via the congested Siliguri corridor.

India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives to sign agreement on maritime cooperation

India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives will soon sign a trilateral agreement on maritime cooperation to pool

resources and share data for better control over territorial waters and detect suspicious movements. India

had also agreements with Royal Thai and the Indonesian naval forces to conduct coordinated patrolling in

the east, around the region of the Malacca Straits. India has posted a Military Attaché (MA) in the Maldives.

So far, the MA based in Sri Lanka was also in charge of the Maldives. Captain R.S. Sunil, based at the

Eastern Naval Command Headquarters at Visakhapatnam, took charge as MA last week at Male. He is the

first MA to be based in the Maldives. India trains the Maldivian National Defence Forces and its police. Only

India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and China have diplomatic posts in the Maldives. All the others either

operate out of Colombo or New Delhi.

Business & Economy:

Naina Lal Kidwai takes over as Ficci President

Country Head of HSBC India Naina Lal Kidwai has took over as President of Ficci, becoming the first woman

to head the leading industry body. Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, she has

been recognised in India and abroad with several awards and has won global listings as "Top women in

business" in the Fortune and "15 Global Influentials in 2002". She is also a recipient of the country's

prestigious civilian award Padma Shri for her contribution to trade and industry

Wipro wins award in UK for best offshoring project

Wipro Technologies has won the 'Offshoring Project of the Year' award at the 2012 National Outsourcing

Association (NOA) Awards in the UK. Now in its ninth year, the annual NOA Awards recognise best practices

in outsourcing projects. Wipro has been recognised for its transformational service excellence initiatives at

BT aimed at achieving BT's service objectives of 'Right First Time' and 'Reduced Cycle Time',

Bombay Stock Exchange launches SME index that tracks investor wealth

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has launched an SME index that aims at tracking the current primary

market conditions in the Indian capital market and measure the growth in investors' wealth over a period. The

index will be constituted by SMEs listed on the BSE SME platform. So far, there are 11 companies listed on

the SME platform and this index will have features similar to the BSE IPO index. "This index will help to track

and measure the growth of the companies over a period. Through this, the authorities can recognise the

viability of the company.

Sport:

India annihilate Pakistan to retain Kabaddi World Cup title

Indian men's kabaddi team put in a stellar performance as they literally thrashed archrivals Pakistan 59-22 in

the finals of the 3rd Kabaddi World Cup in Punjab. The Indian team got richer by handsome prize money of

Rs 2 crore, which was more than double that they got in the second edition of the Kabbadi World Cup

whereas the Pakistani team got Rs 1 crore for bagging the runners-up position.The Canadian team which

finished third got Rs 51 lakhs for their feat. 16 nations participating and has propelled Kabaddi onto the

international map as it won't be long that the game might be included in Olympics too.

Ryan Lochte sets second successive world record

American star Ryan Lochte kept up his phenomenal form at the World Short Course Championships when

he set a world record 50.71sec in the men's 100m individual medley semifinals. The five-time Olympic

champion broke the 200m individual medley world record on his way to winning his fourth gold of the

championships. Australia's Kenneth To recorded the second fastest time with 51.47 and George Bovell of

Trinidad and Tobago was third with 51.66. In the women's 200m individual medley, China's Ye Shiwen

attacked in the final 25m to win gold as she touched the wall in 2:04.64 to record a championship record and

win her first world short course gold after having previously won three silver. Katinka Hosszu of Hungary held

on to win silver with 2:04.72 for her fourth medal of the championships, while Great Britain's Hannah Miley

overcame a sluggish first 150m to win bronze with 2:07.12 to add to her 400m individual medley gold.

Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher win Race of Champions

Germany, represented by Formula One world champions Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher, won

the Race of Champions team crown for the sixth successive year in Bangkok.

HIL signs de Nooijer as brand ambassador

Hockey India League (HIL) has signed legendary Dutchman and three-time FIH World Player of the Year

Teun de Nooijer as its third Brand Ambassador for the tournament starting in January 2013.

Jeev honoured

Indian golfer Jeev Milkha Singh won the Asia Pacific Lifetime Achievement award along with Jack Nicklaus

and Colin Montgomerie

Indian women clinch title

The Indian women’s team defeated Malaysia 72-12 to win a one-sided final of the kabaddi World Cup. The

Indians were leading 42-6 at the end of first-half. Raiders Priyanka Devi (13), Priyanka Pilaniya (8) and

Sukhwinder Kaur (8 points) shone for the winner.