Current Affairs 23rd December 2015

Important Points : 

• Who has approved scheme for integrated development and management of fisheries - CCEA
• Which country has became the first to approve world's first-ever dengue vaccine - Philippines 
• Who has passed Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2015 - Rajya Sabha
• Lucknow Metro Rail Project Phase-1A approved by - Union Cabinet 
• Which country has announced to adopt Chinese currency Yuan - Zimbabwe 
• Patna Metro Rail project approved by - Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar 
• RBI created Dedicated Helpline for - guiding Start-ups in India
• 2015 ICC Awards announced
• Who has been banned by FIFA’s Independent Ethics Committee - Sepp Blatter & Michel Platini 
• Winners of 2015 World Champions announced by - International Tennis Federation 
• Who has been appointed as the Chief Financial Officer of Jet Airways - Amit Agarwal 
• Who has been appointed as CEO of FSSAI - Pawan Kumar Agarwal 

Details : 

Who has approved scheme for integrated development and management of fisheries - CCEA

On 22nd December 2015, approval for implementation of an umbrella scheme for integrated development and management of fisheries was given by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). The total estmated cost of the scheme will be 3000 crore rupees.

Following six are the broad components of the scheme : 

• Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) and other need-based Interventions
• Development of Marine Fisheries, Infrastructure and Post Harvest Operations
• National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) and its activities
• Institutional Arrangement for Fisheries Sector
• Strengthening of Database & Geographical Information System of the Fisheries Sector
• Development of Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture

Which country has became the first to approve world's first-ever dengue vaccine - Philippines 

Among the important International Current Affairs, On 22nd December 2015, the sale of the world's first-ever dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia was approved by the Philippines.

Key facts related to Dengvaxia vaccine

The (COFEPRIS) Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks gave the nod to Dengvaxia for the prevention of disease. The disease is caused by four dengue virus serotypes in adults, preadolescents and adolescents.

Who has passed Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2015 - Rajya Sabha

On 22nd December 2015, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2015 was passed by the Rajya Sabha.

The Bill also allows the juveniles of the ages between 16-18 years to be tried as adults for shameful crime.

Apart from this, juveniles between 16-18 years of age committing a lesser awful offence will be tried as an adult only if he is perceived after the age of 21 years.

Characterstics of the bill

• Every district will constitute of Child Welfare Committees (CWC) and Juvenile Justice Boards (JJB).
• An initial inquiry will be done by the JJB to determine whether a juvenile offender is to be sent for rehabilitation or trial.
• Child Welfare Committees (CWC) will be responsible for institutional care for children.
• For institutional and non- institutional children, several rehabilitation and social integration measures will be proposed. 
• The bill includes the eligibility of adoptive parents and the procedure for adoption.

Lucknow Metro Rail Project Phase-1A approved by - Union Cabinet 

On 22nd December 2015, the Lucknow Metro Rail Project Phase-1 A was approved by the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The project will cover a length of 22.878 km with 22 stations and will be developed at an expenditure of 6928 crore rupees.

The total route length is comprised of 19.438 km elevated route while 3.440 km of underground route. 

A 50:50 jointly owned company of Union Government and Government of Uttar Pradesh named the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) will implement the project.

The project will come under the legal framework of 

• The Railways Act, 1989, as amended from time to time
• The Metro Railways (Operation and Maintenance) Act, 2002
• The Metro Railways (Construction of Works) Act, 1978

Which country has announced to adopt Chinese currency Yuan - Zimbabwe 

Among the important International Current Affairs, On 21st December 2015, Zimbabwe's Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa announced to adopt the Chinese Yuan in return for the cancellation of the debt worth 40 million dollars.

Zimbabwe is struggling to come out from a deep 1999-2008 recession. China has given loan to Zimbabwe of more than one billion dollars in low interest in last five years.

Patna Metro Rail project approved by - Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar 

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 22nd December 2015, the much anticipated Patna Metro Rail project's proposal was approved by Bihar's Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in a meeting to review the performance of the state urban development department.

For the approval of the state cabinet, the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the Patna Metro Rail project will be presented. 

Main proposals of the project

The first phase of the metro proposal will cover a total distance of 31km.

For monitoring of the construction of the project in Patna, a corporation on the lines of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation will be formed.

RBI created Dedicated Helpline for - guiding Start-ups in India

On 22nd December 2015, a dedicated helpline (Email) for start-ups in India has been created by The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to offer assistance on Forex matters.

In this reference, Reserve Bank has asked to provide complete information from the enterprises and to mention the specific issues on which they need guidance from the Bank in relation to the Foreign Exchange Management regulations. 

This will enable the personnel attending the helpline to offer timely and effective information. Generally, Start-up enterprises undertake a wide range of cross-border transactions including those related to investment. 

2015 ICC Awards announced

Among the important Sports Current Affairs, On 23rd December 2015, the winners for the 2015 ICC Awards were announced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in Dubai based on performance of individuals and teams, both men and women, between 18th to 13th September 2015.

Out of the 10 awards, Australian captain Steve Smith was conferred with the Test Cricketer of the Year and Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year.

With this, he became the 11th overall and fourth Australian to win the prestigious award.

List of ICC Awards 2015 Winners

• ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year - AB de Villiers (South Africa)
• ICC Associate and Affiliate Cricketer of the Year - Khurram Khan (UAE)
• David Shepherd Trophy for ICC Umpire of the Year - Richard Kettleborough
• ICC Spirit of Cricket Award - Brendon McCullum (New Zealand)
• ICC Twenty20 International Performance of the Year - Faf du Plessis (South Africa)
• ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year - Meg Lanning (Australia)
• ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year - Josh Hazlewood (Australia)
• Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year - Steven Smith (Australia)
• ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year - Stafanie Taylor (West Indies)
• ICC Test Cricketer of the Year - Steven Smith (Australia)

Who has been banned by FIFA’s Independent Ethics Committee - Sepp Blatter & Michel Platini 

On 21st December 2015, FIFA President Sepp Blatter and Vice-President and member of the Executive Committee of FIFA and President of UEFA Michel Platini were banned by the adjudicatory chamber of the Ethics Committee for a period of 8 years.

They have also been fined 40000 US dollar on Blatter and 80000US dollar on Platini.

The Ethics Committee of football's global governing body chaired by Hans-Joachim Eckert suspended the duo in the wake of payment of 20 lakh Swiss Francs (CHF)transferred to Platini by Blatter.

Winners of 2015 World Champions announced by - International Tennis Federation 

Among the important Sports Current Affairs, On 22nd December 2015, the winners of 2015 World Champions were announced by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

The awards will be presented to them at the 2016 ITF World Champions Dinner.

List of ITF 2015 World Champions

• ITF Wheelchair World Champions - Jiske Griffioen (Netherlands) & Shingo Kunieda (Japan)
• Men’s Doubles World Champions - Jean-Julien Rojer (Netherlands) & Horia Tecau (Romania)
• Women’s Doubles World Champions - Martina Hingis (Switzerland) & Sania Mirza (India)
• Women’s World Champion - Serena Williams (the USA)
• ITF Junior World Champions - Dalma Galfi (Hungary) & Taylor Fritz (the USA)
• Men’s World Champion - Novak Djokovic (Serbia)

Who has been appointed as the Chief Financial Officer of Jet Airways - Amit Agarwal 

Among the important appointments, On 22nd December 2015, Amit Agarwal was announced as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Jet Airways. 

He will be a part of the operating committee that has been assigned by the airline's board of directors to steer the airline’s growth plans.

About Amit Agarwal 

• Earlier to this, he was the CFO of Suzlon Energy.
• Earlier to Suzlon, he managed the leadership roles at Arcelor Mittal - Europe and Essar Steel.
• He has a rich experience of 24 years with knowledge and insights of Indian and international markets.

Who has been appointed as CEO of FSSAI - Pawan Kumar Agarwal 

Among the important appointments, On 22nd December 2015, Senior IAS officer Pawan Kumar Agarwal was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of food regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) by replacing Yudhvir Singh Malik.

In September 2015, Malik was shifted as Additional Secretary in Niti Aayog. 

Earlier to Pawan Kumar Agarwal's appointment, Ashish Bahuguna, chairman of FSSAI was holding the additional charge of FSSAI CEO. 

Agarwal is a IAS officer of West Bengal cadre of 1985 batch. At present, he is serving as the Joint Secretary in Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.