Changing the way of learning Daily Current Affairs Capsule 19 th December 2018 1. Iceland ranked number one in WEF s Global Gender Gap Index Report Iceland has been ranked as number 1 in the WEF s Gender Gap Index for the 10th consecutive year. It has been able to close about 85.8 percent of its overall gender gap. Norway (83.5 percent) came at the second spot, Sweden (82.2 percent) at the third, and Finland (82.1 percent) claimed the 4th spot in the rankings. Point to Remember
India has come at 108th position in the recently released Gender Gap Index 2018 by World Economic Forum. India was ranked at the same position in 2017 rankings as well. As per WEF report, India needs to get more women into senior and professional roles to make more improvement in the rankings. 2. International Migrants Day, 2018: 18th December The International Migrants Day 2018 observed on 18th December 2018 across the world. In accordance with the Resolution 55/93 of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the International Migrants Day is observed every year on 18 December. The theme of International Migrants Day 2018 is Migration with Dignity. The reason for choosing this theme is that around 3,400 migrants and refuge died worldwide in 2018. The United Nations have given a call for migration that is safe, regular and dignified for everyone. 3. 7th round of India South Korea CEPA negotiations held The 7th round of India South Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) negotiations were held in South Korea between11-13 December, 2018. During this period a delegation from the Indian sugar industry also visited South Korea. The Indian sugar industry delegation had detailed discussions with top representatives of all the three sugar refineries of South Korea. The meetings were arranged by the Indian Embassy in Seoul. South Korea imports around 15 lac tons of raw sugar annually and the Indian sugar industry is making efforts to export raw sugar from India during 2018-19 sugar season.
4. Issue of commemorative Postage Stamp on Rajkumar Shukla Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Communications and Minister of State for Railways Shri Manoj Sinha released a Commemorative Postage Stamp on Rajkumar Shukla at New Delhi in the presence of Dr. Sanjay Jaiswal, MP (West Champaran) and Sh. Satish Chandra Dubey, MP(Valmikinagar). In drawing the attention of Mahatma Gandhi to the plight of peasants suffering under an oppressive system established by European indigo planters in Champaran, Bihar, Rajkumar Shukla made a seminal contribution culminating in the launch of the Champaran Satyagraha in 1917 by Mahatma Gandhi ji. Department of Posts has been paying a tribute to eminent personalities who have made a significant contribution to public life especially freedom fighters. With this stamp, the Department has released 43 issues in the current calendar year. 5. National e-vidhan Application (NeVA) Project Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal gave details on the status of implementation of National e-vidhan Application (NeVA) Project. Paperless Assembly or e-assembly is a concept involving of electronic means to facilitate the work of Assembly. It enables automation of entire law making process, tracking of decisions and documents, sharing of information. NeVA aims to bring all the legislatures of the country together, in one platform thereby creating a massive data depository without having the complexity of multiple applications.
The State Government will appoint a Secretary level officer to be designated as the nodal officer/representative for e-vidhan implementation in the State Legislature(s). State Government will bear the funds required for running of e-vidhan MMP after 3 years. 6. National Cancer Institute (NCI) opened in Jhajjar, Haryana India s largest Cancer Institute, National Cancer Institute (NCI), has been opened in Jhajjar, Haryana for public services. The National Cancer Institute will be formally inaugurated in January 2019. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) will help to take off some patient load from AIIMS which presently receives about 1000 patients every day. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) will act as the nodal institution for all cancer-related activities in India. NCI will assist other regional cancer centers in research activities. The NCI is built at a cost of Rs 2,035 crore. 7. Madhavi Divan appointed as the new Additional Solicitor General The Union government has appointed advocate Madhavi Goradia Divan as the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) in the government of India. She will hold office of ASG till 30 June, 2020 and will appear in the Supreme Court on behalf of the government of India.
The Additional Solicitor General of India, also known as the ASG, is the third-ranked law-officer in the Indian government. The post of ASG is not constitutional as the constitution does not have any provisions regarding this. The seat of the Additional Solicitor-General of India may be at New Delhi or Mumbai or Chennai or Allahabad as the Government of India specifies. 8. Famous classical singer Pandit Arun Bhaduri passed away Famous classical singer Pandit Arun Bhaduri passed away on 17th December 2018 at the age of 75, after a prolonged illness. Pandit Arun Bhaduri was born on 7th October 1943 in Murshidabad, West Bengal. He was a Hindustani Classical Music and Semi-Classical Music Vocalist, initially tutored by Mohammed A. Daud Khan. Pandit Arun Bhaduri was an exponent on Kirana and Rampur Gharana. In 2014, he was awarded Banga Bibhushan Samman. He also won many other awards.