Daily GK Updates - 27th December, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.Andhra Pradesh gets its own High Court in Capital Amaravati : President Ram Nath Kovind on 26 December 2018, issued orders for the creation of a separate high court for Andhra Pradesh. The new high court will start functioning from 1 January 2019 from Amaravati. With the creation of the new high court, the country will have 25 high courts. According to the notification issued by the Law Ministry, Justice Ramesh Ranganathan, who is at present the Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court,  will head the new high court.It will have 15 other judges besides the chief justice.

2. India’s largest cancer institute in Haryana’s Jhajjar to open in January 2019:

Union Health Minister JP Nadda said that the largest cancer hospital in India, the National Cancer Institute in Haryana’s Jhajjar district, would be opened to public by the third week of January. The institute, being considered as a landmark in the field of cancer research in the country, shall lessen the deficit of tertiary cancer care in the northern region. The institute will have 710 beds, out of which 200 beds will be dedicated for translational research on India-specific cancers.

3. Tamil Nadu: Tribal community Baduga celebrates annual Heddaiyamman festival : The tribal Baduga community in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu celebrated their annual Heddaiyamman festival on 26^th Dec 2018. People observe 48 days fast and walk in religious processions, holding up a holy shaft which symbolizes the miracle of the traditional Badaga goddess. The Badagas are an indigenous tribal group in the Nilgiris and occupy more than 400 remote hill villages in the district.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1.Three islands in Andaman and Nicobar to be renamed after Netaji Subash Chandra Bose : The Centre has decided to rename three islands of Andaman.According to reports, the three islands - Ross Island, Neil Island and Havelock Island will be renamed Netaji Subash Chandra Bose island, Shaheed dweep, and Swaraj dweep, respectively. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to make the announcement during his visit to Port Blair on 30 December. 30 December 2018 marks the 75th anniversary of Netaji's visit to the islands.

2. Bhutanese PM to begin 3-day India visit today : Prime Minister of Bhutan Dr. Lotay Tshering will arrive today in New Delhi on a three-day official visit to India.The visit of the Bhutanese Prime Minister is taking place during the Golden jubilee year of the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries.Foreign Secretary Vijay K Gokhale will call on the visiting dignitary on Thursday.During his visit, Bhutanese PM will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

3. India Takes Over Iran's Strategic Chabahar Port : Indian firm India Ports Global Limited took over the operations of the Shaheed Behesti Port at Chabahar on the southeastern coast of Iran, being jointly developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan. he company opened its office following the first meeting of the follow-up committee for implementation of the trilateral Chabahar Agreement between India, Afghanistan and Iran. "It was agreed to allow cargo movement at Chabahar using TIR Convention provisions."

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Bimal Jalan to head expert panel on Economic Capital Framework : The Reserve Bank of India has formed an expert committee under former governor Bimal Jalan to decide the appropriate level of reserves that the regulator should hold.The six-member panel has former deputy RBI governor Rakesh Mohan as its vice chairman and comprises economic affairs secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, RBI central board members Bharat Doshi and Sudhir Mankad and deputy governor NS Vishwanathan.

BANKING/FINANCE:

1.  RBI launches survey to capture retail payment habits in 6 cities : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will capture payment habits of individuals in six cities, including four metropolitan towns. For the purpose, the central bank has launched a ‘Survey on Retail Payment Habits of Individuals (SRPHi)’. The survey will cover a sample of 6,000 individuals from various socio-economic backgrounds across six cities -- Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Guwahati.

DEFENCE:

1.China successfully tests Russia's S-400 missile air defence system : China has successfully tested the advanced S-400 air defence system imported from Russia for which India also signed-up recently despite concerns over threat of sanctions from the US.S-400 is known as Russia's most advanced long-range surface-to-air missile defence system. China was the first foreign buyer to seal a government-to-government deal with Russia in 2014 to procure the lethal missile system.

SPORTS :

1.Former Australia captain Ponting inducted into ICC Hall of Fame : Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting was formally inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame on 26 Dec 2018.Ponting was named in the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame along with former India captain Rahul Dravid and England woman wicketkeeper-batter Claire Taylor during the ICC Annual Conference in Dublin in July.

2. CA Kuttappa takes over as India's chief boxing coach : Dronacharya awardee C A Kuttappa has taken over as India's chief boxing coach. The 39-year-old Kuttappa is credited with shaping some of the country's most successful boxers such as Vijender Singh, M Suranjoy Singh and Shiva Thapa, among others. He replaced veteran coach SR Singh.