1. World Bank releases Migration & Remittances Factbook 2016
i) World Bank Group’s Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration & Development (KNOMAD) initiative recently released the Migration & Remittance Factbook 2016.
ii) The report provides latest statistics on immigration, emigration, skilled emigration and remittance flows for 214 countries & territories.
iii) It also updates the 2011 edition with further data on bilateral migration & remittances and second generation diasporas and recent movement of refugees.
iv) As per the report, in 2015, the number of international migrants might exceed 250 million, an unprecedented high. India was the largest remittance-receiving country, with around $72 billion in 2015 followed by China & Philippines.
v) Fast-growing developing countries are increasingly becoming the destination for migrants from other developing countries.
vi) Mexico-United States was the largest migration corridor accounting for 13 million migrants in 2013, followed by Russia-Ukraine, Bangladesh-India & Ukraine-Russia.
2. Australian sea snake species rediscovered
i) Two hitherto endemic Australian sea snakes, namely the leaf-scaled snake (Aipysurus
ii) Due to their restricted geographic ranges of Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea, the two species were listed as critically endangered in 2010. They have also disappeared completely between 1998 and 2002.
iii) The species was confirmed by Australian biologist Blanche D’Anastasi.
3. Cow is Yahoo’s Personality of the Year
i) Search engine Yahoo recently named ‘cow’ as the Personality of the Year 2015 as the domestic animal topped Yahoo’s Year in Review (YIR) list.
ii) As per Yahoo’s report, the beef ban in Maharashtra and the resultant controversy,
iii) Further, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal & Bihar CM Nitish Kumar were top newsmakers of 2015. PM Narendra Modi remained the most searched politician this year too.
iv) Salman Khan & Sunny Leone were among the most-searched male and female celebrities respectively.
4. Nepal Cabinet to amend Constitution
i) Nepal government will amend its Constitution to address demands of agitating Madhesis regarding proportional representation and constituency delimitation.
ii) Madhesis’ protest for constitutional rights was a major concern since the adoption of the Constitution on September 20, 2015. Madhesis hail from Nepal’s southern region called ‘Madhesh’.
iii) The Pahadi communities in Nepal got 100 seats in the Parliament while Madhesis got only 65 seats. Also, Madhesis are dissatisfied with the constitutional scheme related to proposed boundaries of the new provinces as it forces them to share their provinces with hilly districts.
5. EU extends economic sanctions against Russia for 6 months
i) The 28-member European Union extended its economic sanctions against Russia for six months for its involvement in the Ukraine crisis.
ii) The sanctions are on Russia’s financial, energy & defence sectors and some dual-use goods. The EU extended sanction after assessing Russia’s attachment to the Minsk peace deal in eastern Ukraine.
iii) Over 8,000 civilians were killed in this conflict as per UN’s statistics. Not only are Russian rebels flouting ceasefire agreements, as per Ukraine, even after signing the peace treaty, they have not got the control of the region from Russia.
iv) EU has also imposed visa bans and asset freezes to target associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin and others involved in the annexation of Crimea.
6. Gopal Subramanium Commission appointed to unravel DDCA scam
i) Delhi government has instituted a commission under former Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium to inquire into the alleged financial irregularities of the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) scam.
ii) A three-member group headed by Chetan Sanghi recommended the establishment of a commission to investigate the matter under the Commission of Enquiries Act, 1952.
7. Odisha government launches Anwesha scheme
i) Odisha government has launched Anwesha scheme to provide free education to SC and ST students. Under this, around 5,000 SC/ST students will annually be enrolled into Standard I across leading private schools in urban areas and the government will bear the education costs.
ii) Over 2 lakh SC/ST students will avail this scheme.
8. Cochin Shipyard is India’s first licensed shipyard to make LNG ships
i) Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) has become the first Indian Shipyard to build LNG transporting ships for a client worldwide. CSL successfully completed a Mark-II
ii) Using their patented membrane containment system known as the Mark-III Technology, CSL can build LNG ships for any client.
iii) GTT has patented various technologies for carrying LNG in ships. CSL has partnered with Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), Korea to upgrade existing facilities and systems in the yard and implement requisite protocols while building the LNG ships.
9. SpaceX successfully launches and lands Falcon 9 rocket
i) The 230-ft Falcon 9 rocket was successfully launched and landed by leading American aerospace company SpaceX. The rocket was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The rocket’s payload of 11 ORBCOMM satellites was also successfully deployed in nominal orbits before landing back on Earth.
ii) For the first time, a rocket has returned back to the Earth after launching satellites, wholly ready for future launches. This reusable facility of the rocket will drastically cut down costs in such projects.
10. Andy Murray is 2015 BBC Sports Personality of the Year
i) Legendary Scottish tennis player Andy Murray has won the 2015 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award. He was chosen for the honour after receiving highest public votes for his performance in 2015.
ii) This is the second time he has been honoured with the title; first in 2013. Murray
iii) The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) annually presents this award to either British sportspersons or reside and play a significant amount of their sport in the UK.
iv) The award was established by Paul Fox in 1954. Formula 1 racer Lewis Hamilton
11. National Mathematics Day observed
i) To commemorate the birth anniversary great Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, the National Mathematics Day as observed on December 22, 2015, across India.
ii) India & UNESCO joined hands to spread the joy of mathematics and knowledge to students and learners across the world.
iii) Conferences on ‘zero’ were held at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris & the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru to recognise Aryabhatta’s role in the invention of zero.
iv) Former Prime Minister Dr. ManMohan Singh declared to observe 22nd December as the National Mathematics Day in 2012, which was also declared as the National Mathematics Year.
12. UNSC extends sanctions against Taliban in Afghanistan
i) Resolution 2255 (2015) under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter was adopted unanimously by United Nations Security Council (UNSC). This resolution extends actions against individuals and entities affiliated with the Taliban for more 18 months.
ii) For a committee established in paragraph 35 of resolution 1988(2011)determined will not be under the travel ban on a case by case basis only. For the requested period of any travel only between specified locations, exemptions would be granted.
It extends exemption to travel bans and assets freezes as well as language on the need to combat the financing of terrorism. Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) recommendations were agreed upon to cut the flow of funds and other financial assets and economic resources to the individuals and entities on the 1988 sanction list.
13. Grocery service PepperTap acquires Jiffstore
i) Based on demand grocery service PepperTap has queried
Bengaluru based hyperlocal grocery delivery startrup Jiffstore. As per the deal Jiffstore will completely merge it’s operations with PepperTap.
ii) Jiffstore was established by Shamel Abdulla, Asvin Ram, Satish Basavaraj & Sandeep Sreenath in 2013.
PepperTap was found by Navneet Singh & Milind Sharma in
November , 2014. It has operations in 18 indian cities.
14. China launches DAMPE satellite to know more about dark matter
i) China has launched the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) Satellite to shed light on mysterious dark matter.
ii) DAMPE is the China’s first space telescope and it is launched on a long march 2-D rocket from Jiuquan Satellite launch centre.
iii) The satellite will search for smocking gun signals of dark matters. To observe the direction, energy and the electric charge of high energy particles in space, DAMPE will be placed in the sun-synchronous orbit at a height of 500 kilometres.
iv) The satellite is nicknamed as ‘Wukong’ after the Monkey King with penetrating eyes in the Chinese classical fiction ‘Journey to the West’.
15. 6th All India Survey on Higher education was launched by Union HRD Ministry
i) The HRD ministry of central government has launched the 6th All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) in New Delhi.
ii) This survey covers all the Higher educations institutions in country like universities, colleges and stand alone institutions from 2010-11 to 2014-15.
iii) As per the survey, there is an increase in overall enrolment from 27.5 million in 2010-11 to 33.3 million in 2014-15.
iv) There is also an improvement in gross enrolment ratio which is a ratio of enrolment in higher education to population in the eligible age group (18-23) years from 19.4 percent on 2010-11 to 23.6 percent in 2014-15.
v) A ratio of proportional representation of female and male also known as Gender Parity Index (GPI) has also increased from 0.86 to 0.93.
vi) The total number of universities have increased from 621 to 757 and the colleges from 32,974 to 38,056 during this period.
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