Current Affairs 18th December 2017

Current Affairs 18th December 2017 - Important Points

• North-East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme approved by - Union Cabinet
• International Migrants Day 2017 observed globally on - 18th December 2017
• PV Sindhu loses to Japan’s Yamaguchi on - 17th December 2017
• Union Cabinet approves agreement with UNESCO on - 16th December 2017

Current Affairs 18th December 2017 - Details

North-East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme approved by - Union Cabinet

The Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the introduction of a new Central Sector Scheme - 'North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme’ (NESIDS) on 15th December 2017 from 2017-18.

The scheme is being introduced to fill up the gaps in the creation of infrastructure in specified sectors till March 2020 fully funded by the central government. The NESIDS will broadly be covering the creation of infrastructure under following sectors:

Physical infrastructure relating to water supply, power, connectivity and especially the projects that promote tourism. The infrastructure of education and health social sectors.

NESIDS Benefits

• The assets to be created under the new scheme will not only be strengthening health care and education facilities in the region but will also be encouraging tourism thereby the employment opportunities for local youth.
• The scheme will also be acting as a catalyst in the overall development of the region in the years to come.
• Other than this, the Cabinet also approved the continuation of the existing NLCPR (Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources) scheme till March 2020.
• This scheme's funding would be done by centre and state both in a ratio of 90: 10 with the total outlay being Rs 5300 crore.
• The scheme is aimed to enable speedy completion of the ongoing projects.

International Migrants Day 2017 observed globally on - 18th December 2017

The International Migrants Day was celebrated across the earth on 18th December 2017 with the subject Safe Migration in a World on the Move.
The total number of international migrants has risen from an estimated 175 million in 2000 to 244 million in years 2015. Nearly 2/3 of all international migrants, live in Europe or Asia. One in every 10th migrant is less than 15 years of age.  
Taking this into the account, the United Nations celebrate International Migrants Day every year to spread awareness about the protection and safety of the migrants.
NY Declaration-

• On 19th September 2016, the UN General Assembly accepted New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants.
• New York Declaration is a set of promises on large movements of refugees and migrants to support the protection of refugees and migrants. 
• The New York Declaration has started the international protection regime importance  and shows a commitment by Member States to protect people on the movement. 
• The declaration covers the way for the adoption of 2 new global compacts in 2018: Global Compact on Refugees and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
  Did you know?
• On 4th December 2000, the UN General Assembly declared 18th December as International Migrants Day after taking into account the large and raising number of migrants in the world. 
• In September 2016, the Assembly holds a high-level summit to mark large movements of refugees and migrants with the object of bringing nations together in a coordinated approach. During the meeting, the assembly adopted the NY Declaration.

PV Sindhu loses to Japan’s Yamaguchi on - 17th December 2017

India’s ace badminton player, P V Sindhu got the silver medal at the BWF Dubai World Series Finals 2017 in Dubai, UAE on 17th December 2017, after she went down playing against Japan’s top-shuttler Akane Yamaguchi.
Sindhu lost to Yamaguchi with 15-21, 21-12, 21-19 in a match that ended for an hour and 34 minutes. Bearing in mind about her unbeaten streak and the fact that she had already beaten Yamaguchi at the group stage, Sindhu was the clear favorite before the climax clash began. 
However, with the loss, this is the 3rd major event in the past 2 years where Sindhu has got silver medal after a second-place finish at Rio Olympics 2016 and BWF World Championships 2017. Overall though, Sindhu’s performance in 2017 has been a successful one, as she earlier won the India Open Super Series and Korea Super Series.
Highlights  of the Match

• Sindhu started the match and claimed the first point.
• Despite the good starting, Yamaguchi shot right back to grab 4 points in a row to lead 4-2.
• Sindhu then played some excellent defensive shots to equate the scores at 8-8. 
• Despite trailing for the most part of the 1st half of the starting game, Sindhu won 6 straight points to stage an 11-8 lead.
• After that, Sindhu kept up her strength and hit her aggressive streak to smoothly grip the first game 21-15.
• After the Japanese took her lead, Sindhu came under constraint and started doing mistakes. 
• Though the deciding match also started with Sindhu continuing a comfortable lead at 4-0, Yamaguchi yet again made a came back to equate the scores at 5-5. 
• The final round was very close with both players almost neck-to- neck with each other.
• Sindhu played with brilliant all-court play and accurate flat smashes to keep the game tied at 19-19.
• However, with 2 unfortunate errors, the game slipped from Sindhu at 19-21 and she settled for silver.
  More about 2017 BWF Super Series
• The Dubai World Super series Finals 2017 was the final event of the 2017 BWF Super Series. 
• It was organized from 13th to 17th December 2017 in Dubai, UAE.
• The 1st-ever edition of the tournament was organized in 2008 in Malaysia.  
• The positions are decided according to the players’ presentation in that calendar year's 12 events of the BWF Super Series.
• The prize money for the game is approximately US$ 1,000,000.

Union Cabinet approves agreement with UNESCO on - 16th December 2017

The Union Cabinet on 16th December 2017 passed the agreement with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization-UNESCO for initiating International Training Centre for Operational Oceanography in Hyderabad.
The International Training Centre for Operational Oceanography will be initiated as a Category-2 Centre at the ESSO-Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services premises.
The operational oceanography involves planned ocean studies focused at supporting day-to- day operations and  providing statistics services to different areas like shipping, coastal management, fishing, disaster management, environmental management, offshore industries and defense forces.
Highlights of the ITCOocean

•  Initiating ITCOocean as a Category-2 Centre with UNESCO recognition will issue an opportunity for India to emerge as a trendsetter in the Indian Ocean forging cooperation among South Asian and African nations.  
• ITCOocean will cater to the worldwide rising demand to build technical and management capacity in marine and coastal sustainability issues as well as a reply to marine natural hazards. 
• It will strive to boost skills of students and other trainees with an objective to raise employment opportunities within and outside India.
• It will help to achieve UNESCO's Sustainable Development Goal-14 and satisfy promises to support Small Island Developing States, Least Developed Countries, etc.
• ITCOocean is presently operational with up to date provisions at ESSO-INCOIS and has already trained more than 681 scientists including 576 from India and 105 from 34 other nations in different aspects of operational oceanography.
• ESSO-INCOIS is India's leading institution in operational oceanography supporting several services including the ISO 9001:2008 certified Potential Fishing Zone Advisory Service, Tsunami Warning Service and Ocean State Forecast Service.