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 CURRENT AFFAIRS
1) India all set to host the Indo-ASEAN Summit, scheduled on Jan 25
 The Indo-ASEAN summit is all set to be hosted in New Delhi with leaders from South-East Asia
making a presence at the conference.
 The summit would commemorate 25 years of partnership between the nations as well as
celebrate the Republic Day on January 26th with the 10 leaders as Chief Guests for the mega
event.
 Amidst the need for an upper hand against the growing dominance of China amongst Asia and
the world, the highlight of this summit would be to outline India’s vision for the next 25 years
across different sectors ranging from security and economic partnerships.

2) New restrictions imposed on North Korea missile tests by the UN Security Council
 In an attempt to foster security to the United States of America, the UNSC have imposed
sanctions on North Korea for its intercontinental ballistic missile test.
 The sanction would include terms of limiting accessibility to refined petroleum products, crude
oil and earnings from workers abroad.
 China made calls for “dual suspension”, asking the United States and South Korea to put halt to
major military exercises.

3) China launches its first land exploration satellite.

 China on Saturday propelled a land investigation satellite into a preset orbit for remote detecting
operations, as indicated by a media report.
 It was propelled from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi in the early hours, state-
run Xinhua news organization. The satellite is for the most part utilized for remote exploration
of land resources.
 A Long March-2D rocket conveyed the satellite into space. The dispatch was the 259th mission
of the Long March rocket series.

4) Trump ban faces jurisdiction from court, claims that the ban should not apply to
tourists with strong ties with US
 The United States Appeals Court stated that travel ban applicable to the 6 Muslim dominated
countries would not stand if the tourist has good ties with the US.
 It was clarified by the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals that its ruling would be put on holding
pending the latest version of the travel ban by the Trump administration.
 The ban restricts individuals from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen trying to enter the
United States. Trump has said that the ban was essential to shield the United States from
warfare and terrorism.

5) Security top most priority even during Christmas Festivities: Rajnath Singh
 Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said a warning had been issued to all States to
guarantee lawfulness amid Christmas in the wake of periphery components as of late
undermining some Christian people group individuals against commending the celebration.

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  A periphery aggregate in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh had on December 17 issued a roundabout and
debilitated the administration of all city schools against observing Christmas, and that on the off
chance that they did as such, it would be "at their own risk".

 At the point when gotten some information about it, Mr. Singh said a warning has been issued
to every one of the States so that there is no peace issue. He likewise passed on his greetings to
the country on Christmas.

6) Lalu Prasad Yadav convicted in Fodder Scam Case

• Former Chief Minister of Bihar, Lalu Prasad was convicted in the 2 decades pending fodder
scam case on December 23rd, 2017.
• Being convicted and thrown behind the bars more than 8times, Lalu Prasad defended himself
stating that all great leaders who did not have much reach in politics faced the same situation
as him, comparing himself to Nelson Mandela and Bhagat Singh.
• Lalu is still facing trial for 3 other cases related to the swindling of money in the animal
husbandry department by a union of ministers and officials.

7) Administration ban lifted partially for refugees: Federal Court, USA

• The Federal Court of the United States heard arguments from the American Civil Services
Union and the Jewish Family Services.
• The two groups expressed their disapproval of Trump’s administrative ban that prevents
residents of 7 Muslim dominated countries from entering the USA.
• The policy prevented people who resided in Muslim dominated countries from reuniting
with their families in the United States, as claimed by the two parties.
• The Judge in his decision granted consideration towards processing certain applications for
refugees but said this directive did not apply for people without a “bonafide” relationship
residing in the United States.

8) Royal Air Force ‘crushed’ the ISIS: Theresa May

• On her special visit to Cyprus, Theresa May stated that the RAF did a commendable job at
Operation Shader- the mission codename for combatting the Islamic State.
• The Royal Army Force with its base in Cyprus is the heart for all operations against the ISIS
at Iran and Syria.
• Theresa May stated that military surveillance was of prime importance in regions of Iran and
Syria.
• Further Information- Theresa May is the Prime Minister of Great Britain.

9) MoU signed by Uttar Pradesh Government; an attempt to foster close ties

with South Korea

• The Uttar Pradesh Government signed a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with South
Korea on 23rd December 24, 2017.

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• The agreement was signed to enhance cooperation in fields of terrorism, skill development,
culture, and farming.
• A delegate from Gimhae city of South Korea and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi
Adityanath discussed ways to foster ties between the countries during the meeting.

10) Stickers to be pasted with updated prices of commodities after GST rollout;
Government permits MRP stickers to prevail till March 2018
• After the GST (Goods and Sales Tax) rolled out in Juan anti-dumping probe has been initially
1, companies were asked to paste the new updated MRPs on unsold prices.
• Minister of Consumer Affairs Ram Vilas Paswan said that the deadline for products to carry
the new MRP sticker was initially December but since the price on 200 products has been
reduced, the deadline has been extended to March 2018.
• To ensure the implementation of GST, state metrology officers were assigned, as directed
by Paswan.

11) India initiates an investigation on chemical imported from Russia

• Following an application filed by Deepak Nitrite Ltd, an anti-dumping probe has been
initiated by India and imposition on importing the chemical Sodium Nitrite from Russia.
• A prima facie issued by the Directorate General of Anti-dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD)
indicated evidence of the dumping of the Russian chemical.
• Although the period of investigation covers 12 months, further investigation on data from
2014-17 would be considered.

12) Bitcoin faces sharp dip in prices, plunges below $12,000

• Bitcoin hit a sharp dip a quarter to below $12,000 on Friday as financial investors dumped
the digital currency in impulsive trading after its quick ascent rising to a pinnacle near $20,000
that later provoked notices by specialists.

• It topped a merciless week that had been touted as another period of standard exchanging
for the unpredictable computerized money when bitcoin fates appeared on CME Group Inc, the
world's strongest derivatives market on Sunday.

• With several experts publishing warnings over the legitimacy of the currency, Denmark’s
central governor calling terming it a “deadly gamble”, there have been widespread concerns
regarding the security of exchanges done digitally.

13) World-renowned boxer Vijender Singh has his eyes on the Commonwealth
Games and World Championship title
• Vijender Singh overthrew West African Boxing Union Middleweight champion Ernest Amuzu
to uphold his WBO Oriental and Asia Pacific Super middleweight titles.

• He now has his eyes prepared on the Commonwealth and World Championship titles.

• He has registered his tenth back to back victory on the professional circuit.
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14) Karnataka to consider death penalty for minor rapes
• Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy has asked the home department to perform an analysis on
a Bill from Madhya Pradesh that proposes death penalty to sexual offenders who attack minors.
• With an extremely low rate of conviction of sexual assaulters, the Supreme Court wants
Reddy to focus on the implementation of existing laws effectively as of now, rather than jump
towards the formulation of new laws.

15) PM Modi, first Indian Prime Minister to be a part of the World Economic
Forum 2018
• After nearly 2 decades, PM Modi would be attending the World Economic Forum, Davos and
would also be the first Indian Prime Minister to be acknowledged as a chief guest at the event.
• Following attending the conference, Modi is expected to be back to India and welcome
leaders for the ASEAN Summit to be a part of the Republic Day celebrations.
• Further information: The World Economic Forum is an international, not for profit body,
headquartered at Switzerland that is committed to fostering public-private cooperation and
aims at enhancing the state of the world by discussing business and social issues.

16) Guatemala to move its embassy from Israel to Jerusalem

• Guatemala’s President made an official statement on 24th December, saying that the
country would move its embassy from Israel to Jerusalem, being one of the first nations to do
so.
• Guatemala was one of the countries to vote with Trump’s statement and Israel over the
Palestine-Israel conflict and that Jerusalem was Israel’s rightful capital.
• On a Facebook post, Jimmy Morales stated that following talks with Benjamin Netanyahu,
he was going to instruct Guatemala’s foreign ministry to shift the country’s embassy in Israel to
Jerusalem.
• Further Information: Jimmy Morales is the President of Guatemala.

17) Modi inaugurates the Magenta Metro line in Delhi

• The Magenta Delhi Metro line stretching from Botanical Garden to Kalkaji Temple station
was inaugurated by PM Modi on Monday.
• As a part of the inauguration, Modi traveled from Botanical Garden till Okhla Bird Sanctuary
Station following which he addressed a crowd at the Amity University Ground, Noida.
• Amongst the VIPs were Chief Minister of UP Yogi Adityanath and Governor Naik.

18) Vidhana Soudha opens its gates to the public as a part of Bengaluru Habba
• Entry of the public into the Vidhana Soudha was permitted on Sunday, with a number of
events and festivities organized by the Department of Tourism.
• Bengaluru, like cities Singapore and New York, set up the launch of its own logo, taking into
consideration its culture and people awarding the designer of the logo a prize money of INR 5
lakhs.

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19) Bethlehem Christmas subdued: Jerusalem case violence and rain dampen
festivities
• Amidst the widespread protests, Bethlehem faced a subdued Christmas this December 25th.
• Crowds had reduced drastically from last year attributed to the Israel-Palestine conflict as well
as the dull climate that followed.
• The afternoon was accompanied by crowds in Manger square with Palestine trumpet blowers
and banners protesting Trump’s decision- proclaiming Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
• Further Information: The city of Jerusalem, being the birthplace of Jesus Christ holds
religious sentiments between ISRAEL AND Palestine.

20) New developmental plans chalked out for 115 backward districts: Rural
outreach of Modi Government
• Ahead of the general elections to take place in 2019, the Narendra Modi government has
drawn up tailor-made activity arrangements for 115 selected backward areas in the nation to
enhance their financial profiles by influencing accessible essential administrations to like
medicinal services, sanitation and training and fundamental physical foundation like streets and
drinking water supply in a period bound way.

• The 115 localities, including 35 influenced by left-wing radicalism, were chosen on parameters
like hardship (degree of landless families), wellbeing and sustenance (institutional conveyance,
hindering of kids and squandering in youngsters), training (basic dropout rate and antagonistic
student educator proportion) and framework (un-energized homes, absence of toilets, towns
not associated by street and absence of drinking water).

• The administration's concentration is to work with states to get a transformative change

these retrogressive zones through fast government-moored projects and mediations by 2022,
the 75th year of India's autonomy.

21) SEBI writes to Finance Ministry, seeks to make amendments in SEBI Act
• In a bid to protect its executive and individuals from termination without prior warning, the
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has composed a letter to the Ministry of Finance
looking to provide for amendments of Section 5 of the SEBI Act. The capital markets controller
plans to make the Act homologous with comparative arrangements in enactment for the
telecom, protection parts.

• Under the SEBI Act, the director and individuals confront expulsion from the board by the
Central government under Section 6 and furthermore confront the end of administrations
under another Section 5(2), both being totally unrelated. As against this, the justification for
evacuation of the director or a part of other administrative bodies expressed above, are the
grounds of expulsion under Section 6 of the SEBI Act.

• Subsequent to receiving the letter from SEBI, the Finance Ministry took up the issue with
the Ministry of Law and Justice, a source. In a letter dated November 22, 2017, to the
Department of Legal Affairs, the fund provider looked for clarity on the extra justification for
the end of administrations of an administrator or a part under Section 5(2) of the Act if both
Section 6 and Section 5(2) are fundamentally unrelated.
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