Daily Current Affairs, 22nd December 2018

1) National Mathematics Day: 22nd December

•Every year, the country celebrates National Mathematics Day on December 22 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. Born in 1887 in Erode, Tamil Nadu, the story of Ramanujan’s tryst with mathematics is one of the most engaging tales read, depicted and performed through various works of art.

•In his memory, the Government of India marked 2012, the 125th year of his birth, as National Mathematics Year and declared 22nd December as annual National Mathematics Day.

2) 15th Global SME Business Summit in New Delhi

•The 15th edition of a two day Global SME Business Summit was organised by the Ministry of MSME and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in association with Government e-marketplace in New Delhi. The theme of the event was ‘Building Partnerships through Global Value Chains.’

•The agenda of the summit was to bring together renowned speakers with unbounded experience and expertise, a global audience, and various national and international SME stakeholders to integrate Indian MSMEs into the Global Value Chains (GVCs).  

3) NITI Aayog Releases SDG India Index: Baseline Report 2018

•The NITI Aayog released the Baseline Report of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index, which comprehensively documents the progress made by India’s States and Union Territories towards implementing the 2030 SDG targets.

•The SDG India Index, which was developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Global Green Growth Institute and United Nations in India, was launched by NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar.

1. Himachal Pradesh ranks high on providing clean water & sanitation.
2. Kerala’s top rank is attributed to its superior performance in providing good health, reducing hunger, achieving gender equality & providing quality education.
3. Chandigarh leads because of its exemplary performance in providing clean water & sanitation, affordable & clean energy, generating decent work & economic growth, & providing quality education.

4) Odisha CM Announces Rs10,000 cr KALIA Scheme For Farmers

•Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik announced a Rs10,000 crore scheme for the overall development of farmers. Named Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA), the scheme will provide farmers with ₹10,000 a year at the rate of Rs5,000 each for Kharif and Rabi season. Additionally, crop loans of up to Rs50,000 will be interest-free under the scheme.

5) UN General Assembly Adopts Global Framework on International Migration

•The UN General Assembly has adopted the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, the first-ever negotiated global framework on a common approach to international migration in all its dimensions.

•It is meant to address issues that concern the world’s 258 million people on the move and countries of origin, transit and destination. The compact was adopted by the General Assembly with 152 votes in favour in Marrakesh, Morocco. India voted in favour of the resolution.

6) India, Japan Sign Exchange of Notes and Loan Agreements

•India and Japan have signed Exchange of Notes and Loan Agreements on Japan’s Official Development Assistance Loan to India. The Notes were exchanged between Dr. C.S. Mohapatra, Additional Secretary in Department of Economic Affairs, Union Ministry of Finance and Kenji Hiramatsu, Ambassador of Japan to India on Japanese official development assistance loan for three projects.

•These 3 projects are: 

(i) Chennai Metro Project (Phase 2) (I) for Japanese Yen (JPY) 75.519 billion,

(ii) Program for Japan-India Cooperative Actions towards Sustainable Development Goals in India for JPY 15.000 billion,

(iii) Project for Dairy Development for JPY 14.978 billion.