Daily Current Affairs 15 December 2018

Daily Current Affairs 15 December 2018: Your guide for daily General Knowledge Preparation

Dear Readers,
This post contains important current affairs of 15 December 2018. It includes all Major National, International, Business and Sports related current affairs of 15 December 2018. A brief explanation of every current affair is provided to further enhance your general knowledge. Once you have gone through these current affairs we would recommend to you to try 15 December 2018 Current affairs test.

National News

1. 54th Jnanpith Award

Author Amitav Ghosh has been honoured with 54th Jnanpith Award.
Amitav Ghosh known for a series of novels such as “The Shadow Lines”, “The Glass Palace”, “The Hungry Tide”, and Ibis Trilogy — “Sea of Poppies”, “River of Smoke”, and “Flood of Fire” — chronicling the Opium trade between India and China run by the East India Company.
The Jnanpith Award is an Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their “outstanding contribution towards literature”.

2. 23rd International Film Festival of Kerala

Movie The Dark Room(from Iran) won the Suvarna Chakoram (Golden Crow Pheasant) award at the 23rd International Film Festival of Kerala.
The International Film Festival of Kerala (abbreviated as IFFK) is a film festival held annually in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. This film festival started in 1996 and is hosted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy on behalf of Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala.

3. Punganur cow

Acc. to Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Animal Genetic Resources list the Punganur cow breed as facing extinction.
Punganur dwarf cattle is considered one of the world’s smallest breeds of cattle, which originated from the Chitoor District of Andhra Pradesh in southern India is among the world’s smallest humped cattle breeds. The Punganur breed’s milk has a high fat content and is rich in medicinal properties.

4. “Krishi Karman” award

Agriculture Ministry has selected Jharkhand for “Krishi Karman” award in the rice category.
Jharkhand:- Chief Minister: Raghubar Das || Governor: Draupadi Murmu || Capital: Ranchi

International News

1. French Knight of the National Order of Merit

Producer Ashok Amritraj has been honoured with the French Knight of the National Order of Merit.
Ashok Amritraj is an Indian American film producer, former tour professional tennis player, chairman and CEO of Hyde Park Entertainment and the former CEO of National Geographic Films. In January 2018, Amritraj accepted an appointment as a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador.
He has been the producer of Hollywood films such as Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance with Nicholas Cage and 99 Homes starring Andrew Garfield.

2. Third Gender ‘Diverse’

Germany has added a Third Gender category ‘Diverse’ on Birth Certificates.
Germany became the first country to introduce a third gender. LGBT campaigners have been working to get the alternative introduced on birth certificates and other official documents.

3. India and Asian Development Bank (ADB) with Assam

India with ADB have signed a loan agreement of worth $60 million for floods and riverbank erosion in Assam State.
The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The company also maintains 31 field offices around the world to promote social and economic development in Asia.

4. Prime Minister’s Trophy

Tata Steel has been awarded with Prime Minister’s Trophy for the ‘Best Performing Integrated Steel Plant’.
Tata Steel:- Chairman: Natarajan Chandrasekaran || CEO and Managing Director: T. V. Narendran || Headquarters: Mumbai

Business News

1. A world record for the longest uninterrupted operation

The Kaiga nuclear power plant has created a world record for the longest uninterrupted operation of 941 days, suppressing Heysham plant(UK).
Kaiga Generating Station is a nuclear power generating station situated at Kaiga, near the river Kali, in Uttar Kannada district of Karnataka, India. The plant has been in operation since March 2000 and is operated by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India. It has four units.

2. India’s first private UAV factory

India’ first private sector unit for manufacturing unmanned aerial vehicles has started at Adani Aerospace Park in Hyderabad.
It is built by the Adani Group and Israel-based Elbit Systems.

3. Amazon India with Federation of Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

Both Amazon and FISME have signed an MOU to support the sellers in MSME Sectors and Amazon will provide the platform for the same.
FISME is an Indian NGO that is the progressive face of Indian MSMEs and is regarded as such by the Government of India. It is a member of the National MSME Board formed under the MSME Act 2006.
FISME :- Headquarters: New Delhi || Number of locations: 5 || Founded: 1995.

4. OBOPAY with Federal Bank and MasterCard

OBOPAY has launched a new generation pre-payment instrument PPI called- OBOPAY Card-in partnership with Federal Bank and Mastercard.
Prepaid payment instruments are methods that facilitate purchase of goods and services against the value stored on such instruments. The value stored on such instruments represents the value paid for by the holder, by cash, by debit to a bank account, or by credit card.
Federal Bank:- Headquarters: Aluva, Kerala || MD&CEO: Mr. Shyam Srinivasan || Tagline: Your Perfect Banking Partner.

Sports News

1. ‘Target Olympic Podium (TOP) Scheme

A list of 29 athletes has got the nod for government support through the Target Olympic Podium Scheme including 16 Shooters.
The Target Olympic Podium Scheme is a flagship program of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports which is an attempt to provide assistance to India’s top athletes. The Scheme looks to add a premium to the preparations of these athletes so that they can win Olympic medals in 2020 and 2024 Olympics. Under the Scheme, the Department of Sports shall identify athletes who are potential medal winners in 2020 / 2024 Olympics.

2. Allan Border Medal as Australian Cricket Awards

Allan Border Medal has been rebranded as Australian Cricket Awards from 2019 onwards by Cricket Australia (CA) and the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA).
The Allan Border Medal is considered to be the most prestigious individual prize in Australian cricket. First awarded in 2000, the medal is named after former Australian captain Allan Border and recognises the most outstanding Australian cricketer of the past season as voted by his peers, the media and umpires.

3. National Athletics Championship for Blind