Dear Readers, Here we have given the list of Important Weekly Current Affairs of Dec 08th to 14th Dec 2023. Candidates those who are preparing for Upcoming SBIClerk 2023 and other competitive exams can make use of it.

Weekly Current Affairs December 08th to 14th PDF Download

CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

• International Anti Corruption Day 2023 is observed on the 9th of December 2023.
• Human Rights Day 2023 is observed on the 10th of December 2023.
• Nobel Prize Day 2023 is observed on the 10th of December 2023.
• International Mountain Day 2023 is observed on the 11th of December 2023.
• UNICEF Foundation Day 2023 is observed on the 11th of December 2023.
• Universal Health Coverage Day 2023 is observed on the 12th of December 2023
• National Energy Conservation Day 2023 is observed on the 14th of December 2023.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

• The Ministry of Railways has launched the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme for the development of stations on Indian Railways.
• The Ministry of Textiles will organize the country's largest ever ‘One Bharat Sari Walkathon’ in India's financial capital, Mumbai.
• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated ‘Uttarakhand Global Investors Summit 2023’ being held at Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
• Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated Krishnaveni Sangeetha Neerajanam, at TummalapalliKalakshetram, Vijayawada in the presence of Smt R K Roja, Minister for Tourism, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Shri Buggana Rajendranath, Minister for Finance, Government of Andhra PradeshSmt V Vidyavathi, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.
• Invest India, the National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency of the Government of India, and the current President of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA), under the aegis of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), is set to host the 27th World Investment Conference (WIC) from December, at the India International Convention & Expo Centre - Yashobhoomi, New Delhi.
• The Web portal (http://www.nceg.gov.in) for National Awards for e-Governance (NAeG) 2024 was launched
• India will host a four-day 27th WAIPA World Investment Conference in New Delhi.
• India spent about Rs 13.35 lakh crore in 2021-22, just over 5.5% of its GDP, on climate adaptation and expects to incur another about Rs 57 lakh crore over the next seven years for this purpose.
• PM Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme is a centrally sponsored scheme launched in 2020
• 4E Wave has been launched by Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy Shri R. K. Singh.
• The Global River Cities Alliance (GRCA) was launched at COP28, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai, UAE
• India became a member of the Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) Consortium, an initiative led by the Global Leadership Council (GLC) of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet
• Under the government’s flagship regional connectivity scheme UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik), 517 RCS routes have so far commenced operations connecting 76 airports, including nine Heliports & two water aerodromes.
• According to a government report India reduced its GDP emission intensity by 33 per cent between 2005 and 2019, achieving the target 11 years in advance, India's GDP grew at a cumulative annual growth rate of 7 per cent but its emissions rose by only 4 per cent per year.
• The Union government has proposed to sell an 8% stake in IRCON International through an offer for sale.
• The market capitalisation of all BSE-listed companies hitting a new high of $4.03 trillion, aided by positive signals from the global markets and a fall in crude oil prices.
• Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurated a 10-feet tall statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Gandhi Darshan near Rajghat, Delhi. Raksha Mantri described the statue as a befitting tribute to the Father of the Nation
• Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) has launched its retail division, geared towards enhancing emphasis on providing loans to borrowers in the PM-KUSUM scheme, Rooftop Solar, and other Business-to-Consumer (B2C) sectors
• The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal has launched “HaritSagar” Green Port Guidelines to reduce carbon intensity and to develop an environment-friendly ecosystem at all Major Ports.
• The Ministry of Tourism (MoT) in collaboration with Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC) launched an Alternative Livelihood Programme under the Amrit Dharohar Capacity Building Scheme in Sultanpur National Park, a Ramsar Site in Haryana.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

• India has committed a $250 million Line of Credit to Kenya for the modernization of its agricultural sector.

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $98 million loan to improve horticulture crop farmers’ access to certified disease-free planting materials, which will boost their crops’ yield, quality, and resilience to climate impacts.
• The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) approved the inclusion of garba, Gujarat’s most popular folk dance form, in its Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of Humanity.
• Sri Lanka has achieved an “agreement in principle” with India and the Paris Club group of creditors on a debt treatment plan.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi together with President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of  United Arab Emirates (UAE), co-hosted the High-level event on ‘Green Credits Programme’ at COP-28, in Dubai.
• New Zealand's newly elected government has repealed the decision to implement a smoking ban for the new generation.
• The fourth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park has been inaugurated by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
• The Union Minister for New & Renewable Energy and Power has informed that the G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration states in Para 38(v) that G20 members “will pursue and encourage efforts to triple renewable energy capacity globally through existing targets and policies, as well as demonstrate similar ambition with respect to other zero and low-emission technologies, including abatement and removal technologies, in line with national circumstances by 2030.”
• Sweden signed a defence cooperation agreement with the United States in Washington.
• Argentina's entry into the BRICS bloc of developing economies, originally scheduled for January 1, 2024, has been postponed.
• India has been selected as the pioneer lead country for the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Green Voyage2050 Project.
• The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), originally known as the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, and India will launch the "Green Rising" initiative at the COP28 Summit in Dubai.
• Italy has officially pulled out of China's Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, making this move more than four years after initially joining as the sole G7 nation to do so.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

• Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais launches 5 school initiatives for holistic student development.
• Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister (CM) Pema Khandu and US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti inaugurated ‘The Hump WWII Museum’, the 2nd museum in Asia dedicated to the fallen airmen of the Allied Forces during the WWII at Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh.

• Lok Sabha deliberated on the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi sanctioned a ₹561.29 crore urban flood mitigation project for Chennai after the impact of Cyclone Michuang in Tamil Nadu.
• Meghalaya's Lakadong turmeric has been awarded the Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
• Chief Minister of Telangana, A. Revanth Reddy launched Maha Lakshmi Scheme and Rajiv Aarogyasri Scheme enhanced to ₹10 lakh in Hyderabad.
• Assam's Charaideo Moidams, the royal burial mounds of the Ahom dynasty, is India's official nomination for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List for 2023-24.
• The Uttar Pradesh (UP) government has announced plans to build India’s first Telecom Centre of Excellence in Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee.
• Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vishnu Deo Sai will take oath as the new Chhattisgarh chief minister on December 13, 2023 in Raipur.
• Gujarat, the State government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to develop 11 new greenfield airports and expand 9 existing ones.
• The Central Government has granted approval for the establishment of a cheetah breeding and conservation centre in Gujarat's Banni Grassland.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

• The National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is releasing the All India Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Base 2012=100 and the corresponding Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) for Rural (R), Urban (U) and Combined (C).
• For the month of October 2023, the Quick Estimates of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) with base 2011-12 stands at 144.7.
• The Indices of Industrial Production for the Mining, Manufacturing and Electricity sectors for October 2023 stand at 127.4, 141.8 and 203.8
• The National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is releasing the All India Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Base 2012=100 and the corresponding Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) for Rural (R), Urban (U) and Combined (C).
• For the month of October 2023, the Quick Estimates of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) with base 2011-12 stands at 144.7.
• The Indices of Industrial Production for the Mining, Manufacturing and Electricity sectors for October 2023 stand at 127.4, 141.8 and 203.8

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND ECONOMY

• Insurance behemoth Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is the fourth largest insurer in the world, according to a ranking based on life and accident & health reserves of companies in 2022 by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
• NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd. (NBBL), the wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), announced that it has on-boarded SBI Card, under the credit card category of Bharat BillPay.
• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has extended the timeline for implementation of linking SEBI Complaint Redressal (SCORES) with the online dispute resolution platform to April 1, 2024.
• Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transaction value reached a new high level at ₹17.4 lakh crore in November.
• The government informed the Lok Sabha that in the last five years, Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) wrote off nearly Rs 10.6 lakh crore, with almost half of this amount belonging to large industrial houses.
• ICICI Lombard has introduced MaxProtect, the latest addition to its range of customer-focused products.

• Aditya Birla Health Insurance Company Limited (ABHICL), the health insurance division of Aditya Birla Capital, a prominent and diversified financial services provider in India, has introduced ‘Activ One.’
• As many as 28 Virtual Digital Assets (VDA) service providers, including WazirX, Coin DCX and Coin Switch, have registered themselves with the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND).
• The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration in promoting sustainable infrastructure development and address development challenges in Asia and beyond.
• India announces a $1 million relief assistance package for Papua New Guinea in the aftermath of the Mount Ulawun volcanic eruption.
• The Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept the repo rate unchanged for the fifth time in a row at 6.5%.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has increased the transaction limits for United Payments Interface (UPI) payments for hospitals and educational institutions from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh per transaction.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that it will soon release a regulatory framework aimed at overseeing web-based loan comparison platforms known as web-aggregators of loan products (WALP).
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is actively working on establishing a dedicated cloud facility for the financial sector in India
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to allow reversal of liquidity facilities under both SDF (standing deposit facility) and MSF (marginal standing facility) even during weekends and holidays with effect from December 30, 2023, to address the situation arising out of simultaneous high utilisation of both these facilities by banks .
• The ratio of insured deposits to assessable deposits in the banking system declined to 46.31% in FY2023 from 49% in FY2022 as customers, lured by attractive deposit rates, placed larger deposits (over and above the Rs 5 lakh deposit insurance cover) with banks, going by latest Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) data.
• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have agreed to launch a new fund aimed at boosting private infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific, where China is making inroads with its investments.
• Globally renowned data analytics company FICO has commenced operations in India, establishing collaborations with leading financial institutions, including HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, and AU Small Finance Bank.
• ACKO General Insurance and PhonePe have collaborated to provide a range of inclusive car and bike insurance products directly to users through the PhonePe platform.
• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) proposed to permit companies to issue non-convertible debentures (NCDs) and non-convertible redeemable preference shares (NCRPS) with the face value of Rs. 10,000 as against the current system of Rs one lakh face value.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved an 'Offline Retail Payments' product developed by HDFC Bank, in partnership with Crunchfish AB, for adoption by banks and other financial institutions.
• Bank of India (BoI) has launched an exclusive savings bank product for women (Nari Shakti Savings Account) with an independent source of income.
• Universal Sompo General Insurance introduced “Muskaan", an innovative health insurance policy carefully designed to create a positive social impact and uplift domestic workers and staff.
• IDFC FIRST Bank has introduced a youth-centric “FIRST SWYP” credit card in partnership with Mastercard.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

• Taylor Swift is ending her year with another accolade: The pop superstar was named Time magazine’s 2023 “Person of the Year,” beating out Barbie and King Charles III.
• Football superstar Lionel Messi has been named as Time Magazine's 2023 Athlete Of The Year.
• NTPC, India’s largest integrated power company, has been declared as the winner at the Brandon Hall Group’s Excellence in Technology Awards 2023 in an online broadcast held

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

• Telangana Congress President, Anumula Revanth Reddy, appointed as the new Chief Minister of Telangana.
• Former KPMG managing partner Narayan Seshadri will take over as chairman of the India Debt Resolution Co Ltd (IDRCL), the agent to the government-backed bad bank.
• Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has appointed Tarun Bajaj (61) as an independent director on its board, effective 1st December 2023, for a period of 5 years.
• Kanchan Devi has become the first woman Director General of the Indian Council of Forestry Research Education (ICFRE).

• Lalduhoma will take oath as the 6^th Chief Minister (CM) of Mizoram.
• Dr Samir Shah, an India-born media executive with over 40 years of experience in TV production and journalism, has been named as the United Kingdom (UK) government's preferred candidate to take over as the new BBC chairman.
• The United Arab Emirates’s (UAE) Mohammed Al Ramsi appointed as the Chairman of the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) 2023.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUS AND AGREEMENT

• UNICEF's Generation Unlimited, in collaboration with India's Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change will unveil the "Green Rising" initiative at COP28 in Dubai
• Gujarat, the State government has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to develop 11 new greenfield airports and expand nine existing ones
• Global carbon credit developer and supplier EKI Energy Services and state-owned refiner Indian Oil Corporation have collaborated to promote sustainable indoor solar cooking system.
• The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $175 million loan to improve connectivity and resilience of roads in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
• REC Limited, a Maharatna CPSE under the Ministry of Power, has signed a 200 million Euro loan agreement with the German bank KfW.
• The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) recently signed a Memorandum of Common Purpose (MoCP) with the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI), which represents 124 cities/towns situated along the banks of the Mississippi River, the United States
• NHAI has signed an agreement with M/s. DC Multi-Modal Park (Nagpur) Limited, a SPV of M/S. DeltaBulk Shipping India Pvt. Ltd., for the development of Multi Modal Logistics Park (MMLP) at Nagpur
• The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed agreement for availing of a $200 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), to improve the quality, efficiency, and reliability of power supply in the state of Uttarakhand.
• National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has entered into a tripartite Concession Agreement with the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam and M/s. EIEL Mathura Infra Engineers Pvt. Ltd.
• In alignment with the Government of India’s strategi c vision for Digital Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defence has signed a contract with Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL), at a total cost of Rs 588.68 crore, for the acquisition of Digital Coast Guard (DCG) project, under the Buy (Indian) category.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING AND INDEX

• The Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2024 was released on the sidelines of the ongoing COP28 at Dubai

• The most recent report from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows that Kolkata has remained India’s safest city for the third consecutive year, with an incidence of recognized crime (IPC) of 86.5 in 2023.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

• Vo5G/VoNR is the future standard for voice calling that operates over 5G networks, providing improved speed, capacity, and responsiveness compared to 4G networks.
• The measles and rubella vaccine "Mabella" launched by Vaccine maker Indian Immunologicals (IIL) for children.

• Google has embarked on its latest venture in artificial intelligence with the introduction of Project Gemini, an AI model designed to emulate human-like behaviour, sparking discussions about the technology's potential and challenges.
• Iran has sent a capsule carrying animals into space as it boosts its Western-contested space programme in preparation for human missions.

• Youth for Unnati and Vikas with AI’ (YUVAI) is set to be prominently featured at the upcoming Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) Summit.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

• The State Bank of India (SBI) announced that it is planning to acquire a 20% stake in SBI Pension Funds, which is held by SBI Capital Markets.

• The Union government has proposed to sell 8% stake in IRCON International through an offer for sale (OFS).
• UltraTech, part of the Aditya Birla Group, is set to acquire the cement business of Kesoram Industries in an all-stock deal.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

• Captain Geetika Koul from the Snow Leopard Brigade has become the first woman medical officer in the Indian Army to be deployed at Siachen, the world’s highest battlefield, the Fire and Fury Corps.
• India will take on hosts South Africa in their first T20 International in Durban.
• Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur formally inaugurated the first-ever Khelo India Para Games (KIPGs) in New Delhi
• India’s Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto won the women’s doubles title at the Guwahati Masters 2023 badminton tournament.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARIES

• The state secretary of the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) Kanam Rajendran passed away at the age of 73 in Kochi, Kerala.