APPOINTMENTS

1. Justice J S Khehae appointed as Chief justice of India

Justice JS Khehar is set be the next Chief Justice of India after President Pranab Mukherjee formally gave his nod to his appointment. He will succeed CJI TS Thakur as the 44th Chief Justice of India after the latter demits office on 3 January. As Justice Khehar was the senior-most judge after the Chief Justice TS Thakur, his name was recommended to the government on the principle of seniority.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

2. Corporation bank bags SKOCH Silver award

Corporation Bank has bagged the SKOCH silver award for attaining the position of number1 channel partner of LIC of India for the past three financial years. The bank was also awarded order of merit under other three categories. CK Gopal, General Manager of the bank, received the award in the presence of Nilesh Sathe, Member of IRDAI, and Sameer Kochhar, Chairman of SKOCH Foundation, in New Delhi recently.

INDIAN AFFAIRS

3. Single tribunal to decide all state water disputes

The Centre has decided to set up a single, permanent Tribunal to adjudicate all inter-state river water disputes subsuming existing tribunals, a step which is aimed at resolving grievances of states in a speedy manner. Besides the Tribunal, the government has also proposed to float some benches by amending the Inter-State Water Disputes Act, 1956 to look into disputes as and when required. Unlike the Tribunal, the benches will cease to exist once the disputes are resolved.

4. PM launches major skill development projects in Kanpur

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation of Indian Institute of Skills in Kanpur with the aim of making youths more employable and self-reliant. The institute has been conceptualised by the Prime Minister during his visit to Singapores Institute of Technical Education.

• The Prime Minister will also inaugurate Kaushal Pradarshini (skill exhibition) for the youth of Uttar Pradesh.
• The exhibition would showcase state-of-the-art vocational training practices across different sectors and would be open for public view at Railway Grounds, Kanpur between December 19 and December 22.

5. Uttarakhand Government gives nod for 7th pay panel recommendations

The Uttarakhand government has approved implementation of the seventh Pay Commission recommendations, a move which will benefit over 2.50 lakh state government employees and pensioners ahead of polls in the state. The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Harish Rawat.

6. Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah inaugurates first air ambulance service in Bengaluru

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has  inaugurated Karnataka’s first air ambulance service at HAL airport in the state capital. Newly built helicopters are specially designed to fulfill the requirements of the patients while transporting them from one place to another. For the time being, only three choppers are available for the service and named as H 130.

BANKING AND FINANCE

7. Lanura is first village to go cashless in J&K

A village in central Kashmir’s Budgam district has become the first village in the state to go ‘cashless’. Lanura village, about 30 kms from the summer capital here, has become the first village in Jammu and Kashmir to go cashless.  So far, 150 persons have been provided training to use EPS at Lanura which falls in Panchayat Bugroo-B in block Khansahab of the district.

8. Amazon launches ewallet in bid to increase cashless transactions

Amazon India  has launched its online wallet Amazon Pay Balance, in a bid to increase cashless orders. The company, which does not offer an online wallet based payment option, has introduced a payment option similar to how mobile wallets work. The option is, however, limited to Amazon-based transactions.

9. RBI to issue new Rs.50 banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi series

The Reserve Bank of India has said that it will issue Rs 50 denomination banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi Series-2005, with inset letter ‘L’, ‘R’ in both the number panels, bearing signature of Dr Urjit R.Patel, Governor, Reserve Bank of India, and the year of printing ‘2016’ printed on the reverse of the banknote.

These banknotes would have the ascending size of numerals in the number panels and without intaglio printing; the banknotes are similar to Rs 50 banknotes issued earlier in Mahatma Gandhi Series-2005.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

10. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani unveils bill of rights

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani unveiled a “bill of rights” was guaranteeing freedom of speech, protest, fair trials and privacy. This bill is a call by the Iranian nation against some arrogant  Western countries who think they are ahead of Third World countries in human rights. One of the major demands of Iranian people is citizenship rights

FOREIGN RELATIONS

11. India and Kyrgyzstan sign 6 agreements in various fields

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has termed Kyrgyz Republic as India’s valuable partner in pursuit of making Central Asia a region of sustainable peace.  The relationship between India and the Kyrgyz Republic is filled with goodwill from centuries of shared historical links.

• Both the leaders also reviewed cooperative engagement in the field of defence.
• India and Kyrgyzstan have signed six Memoranda of Understanding including in the fields of tourism, agriculture and food industry, youth development and broadcasting and exchange of audio-visual programmes.
• MoU has been inked between Prasar Bharti and public service broadcaster of Kyrgyzstan.

SPORTS

12. Atletico De Kolkata wins 2016 ISL title

Atletico de Kolkata were crowned the Indian Super League champions for the second time in three seasons when jewel Raja’s successful penalty helped Atletico overcome a dogged Kerala Blasters side following a 1-1 draw after extra time. In the Brief history of the ISL, no other club had drawn so many matches in a single season.

13. Karun Nair becomes second Indian cricketer to score triple century in Tests

Karnataka batsman Karun Nair has entered an exclusive club, joining Virender Sehwag as the second Indian to score a triple-century in Tests. Nair, in his third Test, finished not out on 303 as India declared with their highest score in Tests at the iconic MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

• At 25 years and 13 days, Nair also overtook Sehwag’s Indian record of youngest Test triple-centurion.
• Nair had been 25 years and 160 days in 2004 when he hit that epic 309 against Pakistan in Multan.

14. Andy Murray wins record 3d BBC Sports personality of the year

Andy Murray has lifted the Wimbledon title, stormed to Olympic gold and became the first British tennis player to reach No 1 in the world, by winning Sports Personality of the Year for a record third time. Murray, who won nine titles and reached the final of 13 of the 17 tournaments he entered in 2016.

OBITUARY

15. Henry Heimlic, developer of life saving Heimlich manoeuvre passes away

The surgeon who created the life-saving Heimlich maneuver for choking victims died. Heimlich was director of surgery at Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati in 1974 when he devised the treatment for choking victims that made his name a household word.

• Rescuers using the procedure abruptly squeeze a victim’s abdomen, pushing in and above the navel with the first to create a flow of air from the lungs.
• That flow of air then can push objects out of the windpipe and prevent suffocation.