Latest current affairs. 13 DEC 2014

1. Dineshwar Sharma has been appointed as the next chief of Intelligence Bureau(IB).
 

i. A 1979-batch IPS officer of Kerala cadre known for keeping a low profile. 

ii. Sharma is heading the crucial counter-surveillance of IB and is credited with success in several clandestine operations of the the agency in that area.

iii.Sharma, who hails from Bihar, will succeed Syed Asif Ibrahim whose tenure ends on December 31.

iv.Sharma has served at various desks in Intelligence Bureau since he was posted in the organisation in 1991 which includes Kashmir, Northeast besides stints in Lucknow.

 

2. Ruhi Singh won Miss Universal Peace & Humanity 2014.
 

i. Ruhi Singh of India was in news because she won Miss Universal Peace & Humanity 2014 at Beirut, Lebanon.

ii. She is the first person to win this pageant from India and she won the pageant among the 145 other countries.

iii. Rebecca Boggiano from Australia finished as first runner-up and Sofia Alkhadra from Palestine was the second runner-up.

3. Asha Bhosle awarded DIFF Lifetime Achievement Award 2014

i. Playback singer Asha Bhosle on 10 December 2014 was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 11th Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) held in Dubai.

ii. She received the award for her decades of dedication to Indian Film Industry.

iii. Along with her, another Egyptian actor Nour El-Sherif was also received the DIFF Lifetime Achievement Award for his work on over 100 films.

4. Oil India signs contract for two oil blocks in Myanmar
 

i. Oil India Ltd, the second largest state explorer, has signed contract for two offshore oil and gas blocks it had bagged in Myanmar.

ii. OIL along with its consortium partners signed Production Sharing Contract (PSC) with Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) for two offshore blocks M4 and YEB at Nay Pyi Taw.

iii. A total of 30 blocks (11 shallow water and 19 deepsea) were put on offer in this bidding round. OIL and partners bid for three offshore blocks M-4, M-8 and YEB and won two of them.

5. ONGC declares interim dividend, notifies 3 discoveries.

i. State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) on Saturday announced three new oil and gas discoveries in Krishan Godavari Basin and Mumbai offshore and said it will pay its shareholders an interim dividend of 100 per cent.

ii. “The total payout on this account will be Rs 4,277.75 crore out of which the Government of India will receive Rs 2948.08 crore on its shareholding. In addition, dividend distribution tax of Rs 855.55 crore.

iii. ONGC said it has made three discoveries — one in deepwater KG Basin off the east coast, second in Mumbai offshore basin off the west coast and the third in Cauvery basin in the southern onland part of the country.

 

6. India’s Forex reserves down $1.64 billion.
 

i. According to the RBI’s weekly statistical supplement, foreign currency assets, the biggest component of the Forex reserves, plunged $867.4 million at $289.95 billion in the week under review.

ii. The foreign currency assets had risen $1.42 billion at $290.82 billion in the week under review (Nov 28).

iii. The value of special drawing rights (SDRs) was lower by $21.6 million at $4.20 billion.

iv. Gold reserves for the week under review were down by $753.2 million at $18.98 billion.

 

7. Lima talks: New draft text introduced without consultation.

i. Former Vice President of the Unites States Al Gore, former President of Mexico Felipe Calderon, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Peru's President Ollanta Humala, and Peru's Environment Minister and President of the COP, Manuel Pulgar Vidal, gathered at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Lima, Peru.

ii. Delegates from more than 190 countries are meeting in Lima, to work on drafts for a global climate deal that is supposed to be adopted next year in Paris.

iii. Developing countries have been opposing the mitigation centric approach of the developed countries which are not ready to commit to financial targets or technology transfer.

8. Australia defeated India in a thriller.

i. Australia defeated India in the first test of the  Border-Gavaskar trophy in Adelaide.

ii. Virat Kohli scored a fighting hundred but in vain as was outshown by Nathan Lyon's 11 wickets haul.

iii. Australia is now 1-0 up in the series with the next match to be played at Gabba.