Current affairs notes on 28/12/2018-31/12/2018

1.The mechanical branch of Central Railway's Nagpur division developed a new AI-powered robot named USTAAD (Undergear Surveillance through Artificial Intelligence Assisted Droid) which examines parts of the coach in real time with an HD camera and transmits them over WiFi.

2.Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh conferred the 'Champions of Change' award by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu in Delhi. He was recognized for his leadership role in transforming the governance in the north-eastern state. 

3.In Assam, the third Dwijing Festival 2018 has started on the bank of Aye river at Chirang district on December 27.

4.Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat launched a universal health coverage scheme, which is known as the 'Atal Ayushman Uttarakhand Yojana',with this the state has become the first in the country to offer universal health coverage.

5.The Central government has decided to rename three popular islands of Andaman and Nicobar to mark the 75th anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s historic visit to the islands. The names of Ross Island, Neil Island and Havelock Island will be changed to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island, Shaheed Dweep and Swaraj Dweep, respectively.

6.International Camel festival will be held at Bikaner in Rajasthan from 12 Jan 2019. 

7.Chagari Praveen Kumar appointed as Chief Justice of Amaravati High Court, Andhra. Andhra Pradesh will have its own High Court at its capital Amaravati and the Hyderabad High Court shall become High Court for Telangana.

8.The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) launched a toll-free number and also a facility to file complaints through Common Service Centre (CSC). The toll-free number is '14433'. Justice (retd) H L Dattu is the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission.

9.The Odisha forest department is all set to add another Olive Ridley mass nesting site to its wildlife map at the Bahuda river mouth in Ganjam district to lure the endangered sea turtles,Gahirmatha marine sanctuary in odisha is the world’s largest rookery of endangered Olive Ridley Sea Turtles.

10.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted an expert committee, headed by its former governor Dr. Bimal Jalan, to review the existing Economic Capital framework.

11.The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved Framework Agreement between India and Sao Tome & Principe. The MOU was signed on Cooperation in the Exploration and Uses of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes. 

12.The unique Chapparam (Chariot) festival was celebrated with traditional rituals and festivities in the famous Madurai Meenakshi temple, in Tamil Nadu. The festival is also an auspicious occasion when the God and Goddess measure out food for all living beings. 

13.The Union Cabinet has recently approved Submission of India's 2nd Biennial Update Report (BUR) to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate change,which contains 2014 updates of national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories.

14.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched a 'Survey on Retail Payment Habits of Individuals (SRPHi)' to capture payment habits of individuals in six cities, including four metropolitan towns.

15.The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) was awarded Best Capital City in the Solid Waste Management in the Swachh Survekshan 2018 rankings.The Swachh Survekshan was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).

16.India's opener Smriti Mandhana has been named as the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women's Cricketer of the Year. she has also been named as the ICC Women's ODI Player of the Year.

17.The Government of India invites nominations for the "Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar" for excellence in the field of disaster management. The winners will be declared on 23rd January 2019, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

18.The government has appointed Sudhir Bhargava as Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), along with four information commissioners. 

19.The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the centenary celebrations of the world's oldest yoga institute located in Mumbai that has marked 100 years of its establishment.

20.In Madhya Pradesh, the state government has decided to form a new Spiritual Department to strengthen inter-communal harmony and Sarvadharma Sambhav in the state covering all religions, sects and faiths.

21.26th National Children’s Science Congress (NCSC) is being held in Odisha.Theme is “Science, Technology and Innovation for a Clean, Green and Healthy Nation.”

22.China’s BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), touted as a rival to the widely-used American GPS, has started providing global services.

23.The Prime Minister dedicated the 6th International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), South Asia Regional Center (ISARC) to the nation. The Institute is built at the campus of National Seed Research and Training Center (NSRTC) in Varanasi.

24.The Union government has declared inclusion of 17 new minor forest produce (MFP) under the government’s minimum support price scheme. The new MFP under the scheme includes Mahua flowers (dried), Tejpatta (dried) and Kokum (dry). MSP is the minimum price set by the Government at which farmers can expect to sell their produce for the season. 

25.A postal stamp dedicated to Nabin Chandra Das, inventor of Rosogolla was launched recently on Bagbazar-O-Rosogolla Utsob marking the 150th year of its invention.

Thank you..