sign in sign up
<<
Home , Cho Ramaswamy, Claire Taylor, Kim Garth, Marais Erasmus, Miss Supranational 2016, Parkash Singh Badal

www.mahendraguru.com

Understanding signed between the two, the Eco/Banking/RBI exercise aims to benefit 40,000 individuals/ Ola drivers-partners in safe driving over a period of three years,. ECONOMY DEC 14 : Vodafone announced the launch of Vodafone DEC 2 : 's economy is projected to grow at M-Pesa PAY, a digital payment solution for 7.6 per cent in 2017 as investment regains merchants and retailers to receive cashless momentum and manufacturing base payments from customers. strengthens on the back of structural reforms in the country, a UN study said, crediting DEC 20 : Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation India and China for steady growth of the (EPFO) has lowered the interest rate Asia-Pacific region. Employee Provident Fund (EPF) deposits to 8.65 per cent in 2016-17 from 8.8 per cent. DEC 2 : Cab aggregator Ola's mobile wallet 'Ola This is the lowest rate of interest in four Money' is now accepted at over 20,000 years. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd fuel vends across DEC 20 : Mobile phone brand Micromax Informatics, the country. and taxi-hailing service Uber announced a that will help Micromax DEC 3 : India Ratings lowered its GDP forecast for customers book an Uber ride on their phones 2016-17 to 6.8 per cent from 7.8 per cent without having to download application. earlier, stating that the demonetisation drive will lead to an erosion of Rs 1.5 trillion this Through the partnership, Micromax aims to fiscal. push nearly 100 million devices that offer an integrated experience with Uber over the DEC 5 : Cash crunch post demonetisation is expected next three years. to slow down India's GDP growth to 6.5 per cent for the fourth quarter of 2016 and is DEC 22 : Japanese funding agency JICA has inked likely to spill over into the first quarter of a tripartite consultancy pact with Railway 2017. Ministry and National High Speed Rail Corporation for the high-speed railway According to global financial services firm project between and . Nomura, the cash shortage is likely to last till January. DEC 27 : Coca-Cola India has signed Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh as brand ambassador for its DEC 7 : Paytm has announced a toll-free number Thums Up brand. 1800-1800-1234 to enable consumers and merchants without an internet connection DEC 27 : Tata Motors announced the appointment to pay and receive money instantly and of Bollywood film star Akshay Kumar, as also recharge their mobile phones. This will the brand ambassador for its Commercial empower millions of non-smartphone users Vehicle Business Unit. to go cashless even without a smartphone. DEC 29 : Fortune Magazine's latest issue on India's DEC 8 : Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum largest 500 corporations has ranked Ruchi Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Soya as the number one company in the signed a pact to build India's biggest oil Food and Agri product sector in India. refinery at a cost of $30 billion on the west Ruchi Soya which recorded revenue of over coast. Rs. 27,000 crore in FY 2015-16 was ranked The three firms signed the pact for 83rd overall among 'India's 500 Largest the 60-million tonne a year refinery in Corporations' by Fortune India. Maharashtra with IOC as leader of the BANK consortium. DEC 1 : Competition Commission has approved the DEC 9 : The country's largest car maker Maruti merger of Bharatiya Mahila Bank with the Suzuki India joined hands with taxi country's largest lender State Bank of India aggregator Ola to train aspiring drivers- (SBI). partners. While SBI has global presence, including According to the Maruti Suzuki India offices in 37 countries, BMBL is a nascent (MSI) statement under a Memorandum of bank set up in November 2013.

www.mahendraguru.com [2] www.mahendraguru.com

DEC 5 : According to the Chairman and Managing solution that uses a retailer’s smartphone to Director of MMTC, Ved Prakash ,the Public enable digital payments. sector company MMTC will tie-up with the DEC 29 : Twitter and ICICI Bank announced a State Bank of India (SBI) to sell government- partnership that integrates a slew of digital minted "Indian Gold Coin". customer care support features for the bank, DEC 6 : Punjab National Bank (PNB) announced a benefiting millions of its customers with partnership with cab aggregator Ola to aid direct online response to their queries and cash withdrawals for the citizens of Delhi feedback in real-time. and the National Capital Region (NCR). ICICI Bank is the first bank in India to DEC 7 : The Women and Child Development implement the new features to its Twitter Ministry has tied up with and account @ICICIBank_Care for customer State Bank of India to offer more payment care. options to buyers and simplify shipping of RBI products bought from "Mahila E-haat", an online marketing platform for women DEC 7 : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lowered entrepreneurs. the country’s growth forecast for 2016-17 to 7.1 per cent from 7.6 per cent during its fifth DEC 13 : The ADB trimmed its 2016 growth estimate bi-monthly monetary policy review. for India to 7.0 per cent from 7.4 per cent due to weak investment, agricultural slowdown DEC 27 : AU Financiers (India) Ltd said it has and the government's recent demonetisation received the final licence from the Reserve in its Asian Development Outlook 2016. Bank of India (RBI) to start a small finance bank, becoming the seventh entity to do so. But India's growth forecast for 2017 was kept at 7.8 per cent. AU Financiers was the only non-banking finance company (NBFC) among the 10 DEC 26 : IDFC Bank announced the nation-wide entities to receive in-principle approvals to launch of Aadhaar-linked cashless merchant start small finance banks in September 2015.

www.mahendraguru.com [3] www.mahendraguru.com

DEC 16 : Chhattisgarh Government has signed a National & State News of MoU with Guizhou Martime Silk Road the Month International Investment Corporation of China for setting up integrated infrastructure projects in the state. DEC 1 : The Government approved the inclusion of 15 new castes and modification in 13 other As per the agreement, the Chinese company castes in the Central list of Other Backward will invest forsetting up the integrated Classes (OBCs). infrastructure projects in Chhattisgarh, he added. DEC 1 : Promoting Uttar Pradesh as a “market” for investment and entrepreneurial activities, DEC 17 : Chief Minister Harish Rawat and IPL Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav laid the chairman Rajeev Shukla inaugurated foundation for a 455-acre food park to be multi-purpose stadium, by yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali group. Uttarakhand’s first international one, at The Patanjali Food and Herbal Park will come Raipur in Dehradun. up near Greater Noida under the Yamuna As part of the inauguration, a day-and-night Expressway Industrial Development Authority. match between Uttarakhand and DEC 5 : Hailakandi district of Assam has become Uttar Pradesh was held at the venue. the first district to pay wages to tea garden DEC 17 : NTPC Ltd and National Aluminium workers through individual bank accounts. Company (Nalco) have jointly agreed to DEC 6 : Amidst a pall of gloom following Chief set up a coal-based power project, having Minister Jayalalithaa’s death, senior AIADMK a production capacity of 2,400 Mw, in leader O. Panneerselvam was elected the leader Odisha's Dhenkanal district. of the Legislature Party shortly and sworn in as DEC 17 : The , Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. addressed the inaugural session of the ninth DEC 7 : India will establish a center of excellence World Confluence of Humanity, Power and in information technology at Egypt’s oldest Spirituality, organized by ASSOCHAM, and most prestigious Al-Azhar University as Srei Foundation and the Times Group part of an effort to enhance cooperation in (December 16, 2016) in New Delhi. education between the two countries. DEC 19 : A village in central Kashmir's Budgam DEC 8 : The long awaited 57 km long Hazaribagh- district has become the first village in the Barkakana section of Koderma-Ranchi new state to go 'cashless'. Lanura village, about line project in Jharkhand was inaugurated 30 kms from the summer capital here, has by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in the become the first village in Jammu and presence of Chief Minister Raghubar Das. Kashmir to go cashless. The 203 km long Koderma- Ranchi new line DEC 19 : In line with the vision of making India the project. Skill Capital of the World by empowering DEC 12 : Haryana government would celebrate 'Beti its youth to be more employable and self- Bachao-Beti Padhao Divas' on January 22, sustainable, the Prime Minister laid the next year, by laying the foundation stone for foundation stone of the first ever “Indian 22 girls’ colleges in the state, infamous for Institute of Skills” in the country at Kanpur. its skewed sex ratio. DEC 20 : After being turned down by cricket maestro DEC 15 : Haryana has become the first state to adopt , Assam government said the Centre's Mahila Police Volunteer scheme Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra would be in two of its districts and has inducted 1,000 the brand ambassador of the state’s tourism women as part of the programme. for two years. DEC 15 : With the aim to improve effectiveness DEC 21 : The tiny Union Territory along the Arabian of rural development programmes, the Sea coast, Daman and Diu, has become the government approved the memorandum first cashless region of the country. of understanding (MoU) between Rural Development Ministry and Food and DEC 22 : Private lender HDFC Bank signed a MoU Agriculture Organization (FAO). with Bihar State Power Holding Company The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime to enable residents pay electricity bill Minister approved the MoU. online. DEC 16 : Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal DEC 22 : India conducted the flight test of indigenously- envisioned that farmers' advisory body designed and developed long range subsonic Punjab Kisan Vikas Chamber (PKVC) would cruise missile Nirbhay from the Integrated be instrumental in transforming agriculture Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Odisha. and allied activities as a profitable venture. The sophisticated missile with a strike range

www.mahendraguru.com [4] www.mahendraguru.com

of 1,000 km was test launched from a specially- 16-member countries. This will be a crucial designed launcher around noon from the launch meeting of the Regional Comprehensive complex-3 of the ITR near here. Economic Partnership (RCEP). DEC 23 : The Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad DEC 27 : With Kollam in south India becoming Wi- Yesso Naik formally inaugurated the Fi-enabled, railways have completed the North Eastern Institute of Ayurveda and task of equipping 100 stations with free Wi- Homoeopathy (NEIAH), an autonomous Fi service across the country by the end of Institute under Ministry of AYUSH, 2016. Government of India, in Shillong, The next move is to cover 400 major stations Meghalaya. With this, it became the second with free Wi-Fi by next year. Ayurvedic College in the North East Region DEC 28 : The government approved ordinance on with a Homeopathy college and the only demonetisation bringing much needed Central Academic Institute of Ayush. clarity over note ban. The ordinance is to DEC 23 : The Union Ministry of Coal has launched extinguish liability of government and RBI Coal Mitra, a web portal for allowing on the demonetised high-denomination flexibility in utilization of domestic Coal. notes. It was launched by Union Minister of State (IC) Under the ordinance, hoarding, receiving or for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy transferring banned Rs. 500, 1000 notes after and Mines Piyush Goyal in New Delhi. March 31, 2017 will invite punishment. One DEC 26 : Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was can only have a maximum of 10 old notes. conferred honorary doctorate by the Maulana DEC 28 : In order to obtain direct feedback from Azad National Urdu University for contribution subscribers and use that feedback to solve towards promotion of Urdu culture. the problem of call drops, DoT has launched DEC 26 : Niti Aayog’s health index will rank states an Integrated Voice Response System on the basis of their performance on (IVRS) system in Delhi, Mumbai, Punjab, ‘measurable’ indicators like infant mortality UP, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra and Goa on rate, sex ratio at birth and functional 24x7 23rd December 2016. The IVRS system will public health centres. States/UTs will be be extended to the entire country very soon. ranked in categories to ensure comparison DEC 29 : Jharkhand government signed an MoU among similar entities. with IIM, Ahmedabad for setting up an DEC 26 : In order to incentivize Digital Payments, international standard ‘Jharkhand Innovation the Government of India, kick-started the Lab’ with Chief Minister Raghubar Das Lucky Grahak Yojana and Digi-Dhan Vyapar saying this will give a new direction to the Yojana awards at the Vigyan Bhavan, New youth and entrepreneurs. Delhi. To make Digital payments and a less DEC 30 : Madhya Pradesh has embarked on an cash society a mass movement in India, ambitious plan to develop 1,100 climate- the Digi Dhan Mela will take place in 100 smart villages with an aim to prepare farmers different cities across the country over the to manage the climate change risks timely next 100 days until March. Digi Dhan Mela and ensure good productivity. witnessed the participation of nearly 5000 DEC 30 : Union Government launched Swachh people. Swasth Sarvatra initiative to strengthen DEC 27 : Department of Posts has brought out a health centres in open defecation-free (ODF) special stamp on freedom fighter Gaya blocks. The objective of this initiative is to Prasad Katiyar. strengthen community health centres in 708 Besides, it has unveiled a set of eight ODF blocks across the country to enable commemorative postage stamps on them to achieve higher levels of cleanliness Personalities Series: Bihar and a stamp on and hygiene. Hardayal Municipal Heritage Public Library DEC 30 : President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the in the City.The stamps were released by 77th Session of Indian History Congress at Anupriya Patel, Minister of State for Health Thiruvananthapuram. (December 29, 2016). and Family Welfare. DEC 31 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched an DEC 27 : Assam Government rolled out ‘Atal-Amrit Aadhaar based mobile payment application Abhiyan’, a health insurance scheme to called BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) provide coverage against several critical which is a rebranded version of UPI (Unified illnesses. Payment Interface) and USSD (Unstructured DEC 27 : India is expected to host in July next year the Supplementary Service Data), at the Digi negotiations for mega trade deal RCEP which Dhan Mela event in Talkatora stadium in aims at liberalising norms for trade in goods New Delhi. and services and boost investment among www.mahendraguru.com [5] www.mahendraguru.com

DEC 15 : Cabinet cleared the proposal to ink a revised International News of air services agreement between India and the Month Nigeria, with an objective to improve air connectivity between the two countries. DEC 2 : Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn was DEC 16 : and struck economic deals to proclaimed the new Thai King, heralding a build confidence towards a peace treaty to new chapter in the country's monarchy after formally end World War II that has been the passing away of his revered father who prevented by a spat over Russian-occupied was the world's longest reigning monarch. islands claimed by Tokyo. DEC 5 : John Key, the prime minister and DEC 19 : has nationalised the country's biggest leader of the National party, has resigned in a bank in a bid to avert a financial meltdown in decision that has taken the country by surprise. the war-scarred former Soviet state. DEC 6 : French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve DEC 19 : India and Tajikistan signed four agreements, was appointed as the new prime minister after including one on exchange of financial Manuel Valls resigned to seek the Socialist intelligence, following delegation-level talks nomination in the presidential election, the headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi presidency said. and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon. A DEC 8 : The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister memorandum of understanding (MoU) was Narendra Modi has given its ex-post facto signed on cooperation in the exchange of financial approval to the MoU between India and intelligence related to money laundering, related United Kingdom (UK) for cooperation in the crimes and financing of terrorism. field of Intellectual Property (IP). DEC 20 : signed a 50 billion dollars deal DEC 8 : The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister with for 12 sophisticated submarines Narendra Modi has given its ex-post facto approval to be built by French defence major DCNS, to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was at the centre of a controversy this between India and Afghanistan on cooperation in year surrounding the leak of documents the peaceful uses of outer space. relating to India’s Scorpene submarines. DEC 9 : Aiming to reduce ’s dependence on DEC 21 : India and Kyrgyzstan signed six India for its internet connectivity, a leading agreements, including on tourism, Chinese company and Nepal’s state-owned agriculture and youth affairs, following delegation-level talks led by Prime Minister Nepal Telecom have signed an agreement Narendra Modi and Kyrgyz President on providing cross- internet protocol Almazbek Sharshenovich Atambayev. A service between the two countries. memorandum of understanding (MoU) was DEC 10 : In a significant development, India and signed on cooperation in youth exchange. influential East Asian nation signed DEC 22 : The New Development Bank, jointly a civil nuclear cooperation agreement, with founded by the BRICS countries including Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting that India, approved USD 75 million loan for a it will further strengthen the comprehensive solar project in China. strategic partnership between the two DEC 22 : The University of Chicago signed a countries. Memorandum of Understanding with the The two countries also signed three other Telecom Sector Skill Council of India (TSSC) agreements -- to enhance aviation links, to for devising training programmes focused on jointly work in the area of energy efficiency advanced telecom and digital skills. and promotion of parliamentary cooperation. DEC 23 : Nepal SBI Bank, the largest overseas Dec 12 : New Zealand's ruling National Party subsidiary of SBI, has started point-of-sale appointed the experienced Bill English as (POS) services to push digital transactions. the country's new prime minister following DEC 27 : China has tested the latest version of its resignation of John Key from his post. fifth-generation stealth fighter plane FC-31, DEC 13 : India and have signed three as it tries to end the West's monopoly on agreements in various areas to enhance strategic the world's most advanced warplanes. The partnership. These agreements were signed test comes as the nation flexes its military after delegation level talks between Prime muscles, sending its sole aircraft carrier the Minister Narendra Modi and visiting President Liaoning into the western Pacific in recent of Indonesia Joko Widodo in New Delhi. days to lead drills there for the first time. DEC 15 : Pakistan Army successfully test-fired an DEC 31 : ’s president named social- enhanced version of an indigenously- democrat Sorin Grindeanu as the nation’s designed cruise missile that can hit targets at new prime minister, bringing to a close 700 kms with all kinds of warheads, bringing weeks of uncertainty since the left won a many Indian cities within its range. parliamentary vote on December 11.

www.mahendraguru.com [6] www.mahendraguru.com

70 in the final round to total 10-under 206 Sports News of the to claim the trophy — his first on the Asian Month Tour. DEC 1 : Norwegian Magnus Carlsen extended his DEC 6 : Faisal Qamar and Jennifer emerged dominance over the chess world by winning Under-19 boys and girls singles champions the World Chess Championship for the respectively at the CBSE national tennis third consecutive time, beating his Russian championship. challenger Sergei Karyakin in a tie breaker. DEC 10 : Shiv Kapur remained as the best-placed DEC 2 : Omar Abdulrahman, arguably Asia's biggest Indian at the midway stage of the USD 2 star, was crowned AFC player of the year in million UBS Open as only three a glittering ceremony in his home country of Indians survived the 36-hole cut at the Hong . Kong Golf Club. DEC 3 : Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu jumped DEC 10 : India's Virat Kohli retained his second two places to achieve her career-best ranking spot in the latest ICC Player Rankings for of seven in the world while ODI Batsmen but Australian opener David was also back in the top 10 in the latest BWF Warner was breathing down his neck with World Ranking. just two points behind in the chart issued. DEC 3 : Nico Rosberg quit Formula One, just DEC 10 : Vice President Hamid Ansari inaugurated five days after winning the world title for the Biju Patnaik Rural Hockey Tournament Mercedes in a move that stunned motor which will see over 1500 teams from Odisha, racing. Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh competing for Rosberg made the bombshell revelation in the title from December 16 to March 17. Vienna ahead of the International Automobile The tournament is organized by the Federation (FIA) annual awards ceremony. foundation of former hockey India DEC 3 : Usain Bolt is track and field's male athlete of and BJD MP Dilip Tirkey. the year, winning the award from the sport's Dec 12 : Virat Kohli, India’s captain for , governing body for a sixth time. on 11 December 2016 became the fifth Almaz Ayana of won the women's batsman in the world to score three double- award, after her world-record run to win hundreds in a calendar year. He scored his Olympic gold in the 10,000 meters. third double- in the first innings of the third test match against England. DEC 5 : Japanese Hideki Matsuyuma won the 2016 Hero World Challenge Golf title. DEC 13 : Cristiano Ronaldo was named winner of the Ballon d'Or for the fourth time, capping a For Matsuyuma, it was his fourth win in his terrific year for the Real Madrid star. last five outings, including the WGC-HSBC Champions in China. DEC 13 : Ace Indian cueist Pankaj Advani won his 11th World Billiards (150-Up format) DEC 5 : Indian racer Armaan Ebrahim and his Sri Championships title by beating Peter Lankan teammate Dilantha Malagamuwa concluded their 2016 racing season on a high Gilchrist of in the summit clash. by winning the Pro Am Championship in the DEC 14 : In a first for Indian boxing, former Lamborghini Super Trofeo Series. Commonwealth Games gold medallist DEC 5 : India’s Mukesh Kumar became the oldest Manoj Kumar was elected the players golfer to win an Asian Tour title when he representative for male boxers in the lifted the weather-hit Panasonic Open here recently-formed Boxing Federation of after it was curtailed to 54 holes. Executive Committee. The 51-year-old Mukesh, who has 123 PGTI DEC 15 : Manjit, who represents Army Marksmanship titles under his belt, turned in a two-under Unit (AMU), pipped teammate and star www.mahendraguru.com [7] www.mahendraguru.com

Olympian Jitu Rai in the final of Men’s 50m DEC 20 : India's return to the international boxing fold Pistol event to claim the national champion was complete with the AIBA unanimously crown at the ongoing 60th National Shooting granting full membership to the recently- Championship Competitions (NSCC) in formed Boxing Federation of India (BFI) Pune. at a meeting on the sidelines of its 70th anniversary gala in Montreux, Switzerland. DEC 16 : As Alastair Cook ran a couple off the first ball of the fifth Test against India after getting The BFI was voted to office in September a leading edge, he took his run tally in Test earlier this year, ending four years of cricket to 11, 000. Those two runs made his administrative logjam in the sport. the first England player ever to cross the 11, DEC 22 : India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who 000-run mark in Test cricket. was named ICC Test Cricketer of the Year DEC 19 : India created history by winning the FIH and bagged the Sir Trophy Junior Hockey World Cup after a gap of 15 for Cricketer of the Year, was the lone Indian long years with a clinical 2-1 victory against player to be included in the Test Team of the Belgium in the final. year for 2016. The hosts scored two beautifully crafted field DEC 23 : India defeated 3-0 to secure the goals in the first half through Gurjant Singh bronze medal at the 4th Women's U18 Asia (8th minute) and Simranjeet Singh (22nd) Cup 2016 hockey tournament in Bangkok. while controlling the proceedings for better After the win, Hockey India announced cash part of the game to emerge as deserving rewards of Rs.1 lakh for each player. It also winners. announced Rs.50000 for each member of the DEC 19 : India created history by winning the FIH support staff. Junior Hockey World Cup after a gap of 15 DEC 27 : Army Marksmanship Unit's (AMU) long years with a clinical 2-1 victory against Satyendra Singh got the better of teammate Belgium in the final. and Olympian Chain Singh to clinch the gold The hosts scored two beautifully crafted field medal in men's 50m rifle 3 positions event goals in the first half through Gurjant Singh on the concluding day of 60th National (8th minute) and Simranjeet Singh (22nd) Shooting Championship. while controlling the proceedings for better DEC 30 : Former French Open champion Ana Ivanovic part of the game to emerge as deserving announced her retirement from tennis at the winners. age of 29 because she no longer feels fit DEC 20 : Veteran women's rifle shooter and enough to compete at the highest level. Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Ivanovic became the first Serbian woman to Kuheli Gangulee, won the Women's 50m win a grand slam tournament when she beat Rifle Prone event at the 60th National Russian Dinara Safina in the 2008 French Shooting Championship Competitions Open final, following in the footsteps of (NSCC). compatriot Novak Djokovic who clinched Kuheli, representing CISF, shot a total of the Australian Open title the same year. 626.5 points to clinch the national champion DEC 30 : Vishal Solanki of RSPB won the gold in men's title. 105kg category on day four of the Senior DEC 20 : batsman Karun Nair entered an National Weightlifting Championships. exclusive club, joining Virender Sehwag as Solanki lifted 150kg in snatch and 180kg in the second Indian to score a triple-century in clean and jerk for a total of 330kg to bag the Tests. Nair, in his third Test, finished gold. on 303 as India declared with their highest score in Tests, a massive 759/7, at the iconic MA Chidambaram Stadium in .

www.mahendraguru.com [8] www.mahendraguru.com

A DRDO statement said that SAAW, an Science & Miscellaneous indigenously designed and developed News of the Month 120 kg class smart weapon, developed by DRDO, is a light-weight high-precision- DEC 7 : Remote sensing satellite Resourcesat-2A guided bomb and one of the world class was launched from the weapons systems. Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra DEC 27 : China said it will launch a lunar probe in Pradesh at 10:24 a.m. The spacecraft was 2018 to achieve the world's first soft landing flown aboard a PSLV-C36 rocket. on the far side of the moon to showcase its It was the 37th consecutive successful flight ambitious space programme. of the indigenous light-lifting rocket. DEC 28 : China successfully launched a pair of high- DEC 13 : Alpha Design, a Bengaluru based defence resolution remote sensing satellites to get equipment maker announced the signing commercial images.The satellites were of a contract with Indian Space Research launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Organisation (ISRO) for assembly, Centre in Shanxi Province.The satellites, integration and testing of Indian Regional SuperView-1 01/02, blasted off at 11:23 am Navigation Satellite System Satellites Beijing time on the back of a Long March (IRNSS). 2D rocket. DEC 13 : NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is set to DEC 29 : A team of international astronomers has search for elusive "Trojan" asteroids which discovered Vela super cluster, one of the are constant companions to Earth as it orbits biggest super galaxy clusters near the the Sun. Milky Way. It was spotted by a research NASA’s first mission to return a sample of an team of astronomers from , asteroid to Earth will be multitasking during Australia and Europe with help slew of its two-year outbound cruise to the asteroid telescopes including the Anglo-Australian Bennu. Telescope () and South African Large Telescope (Cape Town). DEC 17 : China has launched its first fully- owned overseas satellite ground station near the DEC 1 : According to the World Economic Forum North Pole which could enable Beijing to (WEF), India has improved its ranking collect satellite data anywhere on the Earth by four places to 102nd position among at a speed it said was the fastest in the world. 136 economies in terms of enabling cross border trade, with Singapore leading the list DEC 22 : China launched a global carbon dioxide .Among the BRICS nations, India, China monitoring satellite 'TanSat' to understand and South Africa have improved their climate change, hours after it lifted nearly a ranking from the previous edition. week-long red alert for the worst smog that engulfed about 40 cities in the country. DEC 2 : India was ranked second in a list of 300 top universities in emerging economies, The 620-kg satellite TanSat was put into orbit "making great strides" in the compilation by Long March-2D rocket from Jiuquan topped by China. Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China's Gobi Desert. DEC 2 : In a diplomatic triumph for India, an intergovernmental committee of the United DEC 26 : India successfully tested the smart anti- Nations has inscribed yoga in UNESCO's airfield weapon system, capable of engaging Representative List as the Intangible ground targets in a range of 100 kms from Cultural Heritage of Humanity. a fighter aircraft, at the integrated test range here in Chandipur. The eleventh session of the Intergovernmental Committee is being held

www.mahendraguru.com [9] www.mahendraguru.com

in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, from November Americas Richest Entrepreneurs Under 40 28 to December 2. 2016 list with a networth of 600 million dollars and Apoorva Mehta stands at 31st DEC 6 : , a girl from , was spot with a 360 million dollars networth. crowned in the first week of December 2016. She was crowned DEC 14 : Rio de Janeiro, nicknamed the Marvelous at a ceremony held in Krynica Zdroj, . City, officially entered the UN's list of world With this, India became the first country to heritage sites in recognition of its soaring win Miss Supranational twice in three years. granite cliffs, urban rainforest and beaches. DEC 8 : US President-elect Donald Trump was DEC 14 : The ninth edition of 'Indra- Navy exercise, named by Time magazine as its Person of an annual bilateral maritime conducted the Year 2016 for his stunning victory in between the Indian Navy and the Russian the presidential polls, describing him as Navy will be conducted in the Bay of Bengal "President of the Divided States of America". from December 14 to 21. DEC 8 : India has achieved a pre-eminent position in DEC 15 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been the field of Science & Technology, Space, ranked among the top 10 most powerful Atomic Energy, Information Technology people in the world by Forbes in a list and newly emerging technologies such as that has been topped by Russian President Nano Technology and Bio Technology. Vladimir Putin for a fourth straight year and had US President-elect Donald Trump in the Dec 12 : Visakhapatnam city will host the world's second place. first ever Wind Music festival on December 17 to entertain enthusiasts. Modi ranks 9th on the Forbes list of 74 of the World's Most Powerful People.Forbes DEC 12 : India and Vietnam will have the highest said India's populist prime minister remains salary increases next year with a projected hugely popular in his country of 1.3 billion rise of 10.8 per cent and 9.2 per cent people. respectively among Asia Pacific’s emerging economies, according to a report by a global DEC 16 : India remains one of the fastest-growing consulting firm. countries in the world, the White House said even as it underlined that inefficiencies DEC 13 : India has been ranked as the fourth most remain in the public sector of the country vacation deprived country globally, as 63 with the poor population still lacking per cent take fewer days of the vacations that healthcare coverage and access to financial they get. services. DEC 13 : Actress Priyanka Chopra, appointed DEC 16 : India is the top country of origin of as UNICEF's newest global Goodwill international migrants, with 15.6 million Ambassador, urged people from across Indians living abroad, according to a Pew nations to become the 'collective voice' of research which said international migrants oppressed children in the world and join make up 3.3 per cent of the world's forces to leave a better future for the coming population. generations. DEC 17 : A 14 days joint training exercise of the DEC 13 : Two Indian-origin men have figured in Indian Army and the Maldives National Forbes magazine’s second annual list of Defence Force commenced with the wealthiest entrepreneurs under the age of 40 Opening Ceremony at Kadhdhoo, Lammu which is topped by Facebook founder Mark Atoll in Maldives. Zuckeberg. Exercise EKUVERIN – 2016 will be Vivek Ramaswamy, a successful biotech the seventh edition of Joint Exercise entrepreneur has been ranked 24th on and is in continuation of a series of joint www.mahendraguru.com [10] www.mahendraguru.com

Exercises between the Indian Army and has been driven by India's rapid economic Maldivian National Defence Force. The growth over the past 25 years as well as previous edition of the Exercise was held at Britain's recent woes with the Brexit. Trivandrum, India in 2015. DEC 26 : Andhra Pradesh's own classical dance DEC 19 : Stephanie del Valle of Puerto Rico has 'Kuchipudi' found a place in the Guinness been crowned Miss World 2016, edging out World Records yet again when a record runners-up from the Dominican Republic 6,117 dancers came together to present a and Indonesia, and beauties from around the show at the IGMC Stadium. globe. DEC 28 : According to a latest Congressional as India DEC 19 : Pakistan third most prolific executioner embarks on a massive modernisation plan for its defence forces, it has emerged as the According to the a rights group Amnesty second largest purchaser of arms among International, for the second year in a row, developing nations after Saudi Arabia said Pakistan has retained its "notorious status" the report 'Conventional Arms Transfers to of being the "third most prolific executioner" Developing Nations 2008-2015' released by in the world, executing 419 people in two Congressional Research Service (CRS). years. DEC 30 : China inaugurated the world's highest bridge DEC 21 : India remained at the third position in that rises 565 metres above the Nizhu river the USGBC's annual ranking of the top canyon and connects the southern provinces 10 countries for LEED, which is a green of Yunnan and Guizhou. building rating system. DEC 31 : Veteran actor Rishi Kapoor, who is known DEC 21 : With its fast economic growth in over two for his brazen honesty in the real as well decades and a half, India has now taken as virtual world, is looking forward to the over the United Kingdom as the fifth largest release of his autobiography titled “Khullam economy in the world. A report published in Khulla” in January next year 2017. Forbes magazine said that this dramatic shift

www.mahendraguru.com [11] www.mahendraguru.com

Appointments of the BS Bhullar : Senior bureaucrat B S Bhullar was Month appointed chief of aviation regulator R K Dutta : Directorate General of Civil Aviation Senior IPS officer Rupak Kumar Dutta, (DGCA). Special Director in CBI, was appointed He is presently working as Additional as Special Secretary (Internal Security) in Secretary in Civil Aviation Ministry. Home Ministry against a newly-created J.S. Khehar : post. Justice Khehar, who will be sworn in on Devraj Anbu : January 4, will hold the tenure for over Lieutenant General Devraj Anbu took seven months till August 27, 2017. over as chief of Army's northern command Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, who led overlooking the operational command of the five-judge constitution bench in the Jammu and Kashmir. Supreme Court which had struck down the Lt Gen Devraj was commissioned into controversial NJAC Act for appointment of the Sikh Light Infantry in 1980 and has judges, was on Tuesday recommended as extensive staff and command exposures. the 44th Chief Justice of India. Rakesh Asthana : Vinod Pande : CBI Director Anil Sinha retired from the The ombudsman appointed by pension fund post handing over the baton to his second- regulator PFRDA, Vinod Pande, assumed in-command, Gujarat-cadre IPS officer the office in New Delhi on December 1. Rakesh Asthana, as the government did not The subscribers will have direct access name any full-time chief. to the Ombudsman where they can lodge Gopal Jiwarajka: complaints against any intermediary PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry for resolution through adjudication and said the Chairman and Managing Director amicable settlement. of Salora International Gopal Jiwarajka has David Shearer : taken over as its President. A New Zealand lawmaker David Shearer J Ravichandran : who has led UN aid efforts worldwide is to Senior executive J Ravichandran has been be named UN mission chief in South Sudan, given the interim charge till the NSE board, one of the world's toughest peacekeeping headed by former Finance Secretary Ashok jobs. Chawla, finds a full-time replacement for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has Ramkrishna, who rose through the ranks to sent a letter informing the Security Council head the exchange and was part of the team of his intention to appoint David Shearer as that set up NSE in 1992. the UN envoy to South Sudan and head of Currently, Narain is the Vice Chairman of UNMISS, succeeding Ellen Margrethe Loj NSE. of Denmark. Sunil Taldar : Saqib Nisar : Telecom operator Bharti Airtel announced President Mamnoon Hussain appointed top level changes by appointing Sunil Taldar Justice Saqib Nisar as the new chief justice as CEO & Director of its DTH arm -- Airtel of Pakistan. Digital TV -- and moving incumbent Shashi Nisar, the most senior judge of the Supreme Arora as MD & CEO, Airtel Payments Court, will replace chief justice Anwar Bank. Zaheer Jamali who retires on December 31. Yaduvendra Mathur : Tenzin Dorjee : Yaduvendra Mathur, Chairman and Tenzin Dorjee, a well-known Tibetan writer, Managing Director of Export-Import Bank has been appointed as Commissioner to the of India (Exim), has been appointed as US Commission on International Religious Additional Secretary in Niti Aayog. www.mahendraguru.com [12] www.mahendraguru.com

Freedom (USCIRF), an independent, She also served as an Adjunct Professor bipartisan federal body that monitors for the Master’s in Development Practice religious freedom internationally. program at Columbia University. C B Bhave : David Friedman : Vistaar Financial Services, an MSME- US President Donald Trump announced focused financing firm, has appointed that he selected attorney David Friedman former Sebi chief C B Bhave as non- to be ambassador to . executive Chairman and Independent Friedman was one of Trump's key advisers Director. during the election campaign regarding Vistaar Finance has a loan portfolio size US-Israeli relations. of Rs 1,000 crore and currently has 198 Vijay Sazawal : branches primarily in rural and semi-urban areas spread across 135 districts and 12 A noted Indian-American expert, Vijay states. Sazawal has been re-appointed to the Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee of the Pulkit Trivedi : US Department of Commerce. Facebook announced the appointment of Pulkit Trivedi as Industry Director for Vijay Sazawal's appointment to Civil e-commerce, retail, travel and financial Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee services verticals. (CINTAC) was announced by US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker along with 38 In his new role, Trivedi will lead in building other members. and maintaining strategic relationships with clients in the country. Vijay Sharma : Akbar Ebrahim : Vijay Kumar Sharma assumed charge as Chairman of the nation's largest financial Veteran Akbar Ebrahim has been elected as powerhouse Life Insurance Corporation. the FMSCI president, replacing Zayn Khan to lead the Indian motorsport governing The Government had appointed Sharma, body. who was named Acting Chairman on September 16, as the head of the state-run Ebrahim was elected president at the life insurer, where he will have a five-year FMSCI Annual General Meeting, which term. was held in Chennai. J Prithiviraj was elected as the vice-president. Sunil Arora : Former Information and Broadcasting Secretary Sunil Arora was appointed as Savita Vaidhyanathan : the Director General and Chief Executive For the first time, an Indian-American Officer of the Indian Institute of Corporate woman, Savita Vaidhyanathan has been Affairs (IICA). elected as the new Mayor of the key He is an Indian Administrative Officer Californian city of Cupertino, globally known for its Apple headquarters. (IAS) of 1980-batch of Rajasthan cadre. Savita Vaidhyanathan, an MBA who Bipin Rawat and B.S Dhanoa : worked as a high school Math teacher and Lieutenant general Bipin Rawat will be the an officer in a commercial bank as well as new chief of Army Staff while Air Marshal in non-profit management. B.S. Dhanoa will be the new chief of Air Amina Mohammed : Staff, Ministry of Defence confirmed. Government has decided to appoint Lt Gen Incoming United Nations (UN) Chief Bipin Rawat, vice chief of army staff, as Antonio Guterres appointed Nigeria's the next chief of army staff with effect from Environment Minister Amina Mohammed afternoon of December 31. as his Deputy Secretary-General. Rawat will succeed General Dalbir Singh, Guterres was recently sworn in as the ninth who will retire at the end of this month male UN Chief. Previously, she served while Dhanoa will replace Arup Raha at the as Founder and CEO of the Center for helm of Air Staff on December 31. Development Policy Solutions. www.mahendraguru.com [13] www.mahendraguru.com

Rajiv Jain and Anil Kumar Dhasmana : Viral V Acharya : In new appointment series, Anil Dhasmana Viral V Acharya was appointed as the and Rajiv Jain were appointed as the next Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India chiefs of Research and Analysis Wing (RBI). He is a professor of economics at (RAW) and Intelligence Bureau (IB), New York University. respectively. Dhasmana and Jain will He will be joining the ranks of succeed Rajinder Khanna and Dineshwar Vishwanathan, S S Mundra, R Gandhi as Sharma. Both the officers will have a tenure one of four Deputy Governors of RBI. He of two years. will be serving under RBI Governor Urjit Praful Patel : Patel. Praful Patel was re-elected unopposed Dr. K K Aggarwal as the president of All India Football Padma Shri and Dr. B C Roy National Federation for a four-year term - his third Awardee Dr. K K Aggarwal was sworn in successive - and he promised to run AIFF in a "transparent" manner. as the 88th President of Indian Medical Association (IMA). He took over as full time president in October 2009 before being re-elected for Dr. RN Tandon will support him as the the top job in December 2012. association's Secretary General. Pradeep Gupta : Admiral Sunil Lanba : An Indian-American engineer Pradeep Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba took over Gupta has been elected as Mayor of South the baton of the chairman of the chief of San Francisco city in the US state of staff committee (CoSC) from outgoing IAF California. chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha even as the government plans to create a new post Pradeep Gupta, an IIT Chennai alumni, was to focus exclusively on inter-services issues sworn in as the Mayor of the city early this and acquisitions. month. Archana Nigam : Vinod Vashisht : Archana Nigam will take over as the Lt Gen Vinod Vashisht took over the reins next Controller General of Accounts in of National Cadet Corps (NCC) as its the Department of Expenditure under the Director General on 23 December 2016. Ministry of Finance on January 1, 2017. An alumnus of National Defence Academy, the General was commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery on 09 June 1979.

www.mahendraguru.com [14] www.mahendraguru.com

Shankar, 34, has been nominated in the Awards of the Month Best World Music Album category for her solo album Home, which is a pure Indian classical album showcasing the meditative Audrey Hepburn Humanitarian Award : and virtuosic qualities of the Indian raga. Hillary Clinton honoured singer Katy Perry SJAM's Lifetime Achievement Award : with an Audrey Hepburn Humanitarian Award at UNICEF Gala. was conferred with the Golden Jubilee Lifetime Achievement Best Cities Award : Award by the Sports Journalists Association Kolkata, along with 10 other cities from of Mumbai (SJAM). across the globe, has been honoured with the Golden Globe Award Nominations : best cities of 2016 award in recognition of its inspiring and innovative programme with "La La Land", a musical about two aspiring regard to solid waste management. artistes finding romance in Hollywood, is leading the 74th Golden Globe Awards Other cities that won the award are Addis nominations while India-Australia set Adaba, Copenhagen, , Sydney and drama "Lion" bagged four nods, including Malborne, , Portland, Seoul Shenzhen, the best supporting actor for Dev Patel. and Yokohama. Casey Affleck, Joel Edgerton, Andrew Children's Peace Prize : Garfield, Viggo Mortensen and Denzel A 16-year-old Indian environmental activist, Washington will vie for best actor in a Kehkashan Basu based in the UAE has motion picture drama while Amy Adams, won this year's prestigious International Jessica Chastain, Isabelle Huppert, Ruth Children’s Peace Prize for her fight for Negga and Natalie Portman are competing climate justice and combating environmental for best actress in that category. degradation. Global Teacher Prize : Best Emerging Destination Award : A woman Indian physics teacher Kavita Jammu and Kashmir Tourism has been Sanghvi in the UK, recognised for her adjudged as one of the best emerging experiential method of teaching physics, is destination for adventure by a leading US- among the top 50 contenders from around based travel magazine Conde Nast. the world for a global prize of USD one million. British Independent Film Award : Kavita Sanghvi has been recognised for her Andrea Arnold's film "American Honey" and experiential method of teaching physics as "I, Daniel Blake" were the big winners at the principal of MET Rishikul Vidyalaya in British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs). Mumbai by The Global Teacher Prize 2017. "American Honey", which is about a gang of Hunterian Professorship and the Medal 2017 : teenagers in the US Mid-West earned Andrea the Best Director award and the movie also A renowed Indian-origin orthopaedic took home the Best British Independent surgeon Anan Shetty has been awarded the Film prize, while its star, Sasha Lane, won prestigious Hunterian Professorship and the the Best Actress honour, reported Variety. Medal for 2017 by UK's Royal College of Surgeons for his research on stem cells in Grammy nominations : articular cartilage repair. Sitarist Anoushka Shankar and Amy director Anan Shetty is a knee surgeon in the UK Asif Kapadia are among the Indian origin and a Chairman and Director of stem cell names featuring in the nominees list at the research at Canterbury Christ Church 58th Grammy awards. University.

www.mahendraguru.com [15] www.mahendraguru.com

89th Academy Award : shone bright at the International Boxing Associations 70th anniversary gala in It could be a double whammy for Indian Montreux, Switzerland, picking up different music maestro A.R. Rahman once again at awards for their performances. the 89th Academy Awards as his work for 'Pele: Birth of a Legend' has found a spot in Bihari Puraskar : the list of Oscar contenders for the year. The K K Birla Foundation announced Officier de la Legion dHonneur : that eminent Rajasthani litterateur Satya Narayan has been chosen for the 26th Bihari Chairperson and Editorial Director of Puraskar, 2016 for his book titled, Hindustan Times, Shobhana Bhartia was "Yeh Ek Dunia". conferred Frances top civilian honour - Officier de la Legion dHonneur. Honorary D.Litt degree by D Y Patil University : Peace Prize 2015 : Noted playback singer Anuradha Paudwal will be conferred with honorary D. Litt Former Prime Minister degree by the D Y Patil University on its presented Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, 5th convocation ceremony, to be held in Disarmament and Development for 2015 to Kolhapur. the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Yasuko Shimizu. A National Award recipient, she is also the four-time winner of prestigious Filmfare SKOCH Award : Award. The National Commission for Protection Navlekhan award 2016 of Child Rights (NCPCR) of Ministry of Women and Child Development has been Two new Hindi writers Shraddha and conferred the Skoch Silver and Skoch Order- Ghyansham Kumar Devansh have been of Merit award. chosen for Bharatiya Jnanpith Navlekhan Award for the year 2016. AIBA 70th Anniversary Award : The legendary M C and former Asian Games gold-medallist Vikas Krishan

www.mahendraguru.com [16] www.mahendraguru.com

status among her followers, who mastered the art of the comeback despite Eulogies of the Month setbacks electoral and legal, passed away. John Mansfield : Cho Ramaswamy : John Mansfield who survived two world Veteran Indian journalist, former wars and saw historic events like the Rajya Sabha member and political April 1912 sinking of Titanic. commentator Cho Ramaswamy died. He Jack, who was born in 1907, passed away was 82. peacefully in his sleep just six weeks John Glenn : after breaking the record of Britain’s oldest man, Metro.co.ukreported. He has Former US Senator and astronaut John lived through 19 Prime Ministers, five Glenn, who became the first American to monarchs and survived two world wars. orbit the earth, has died in Ohio. He was 95. Sulabha Brahme : Glenn, who circled the earth three times, Eminent economist and Left ideologue was the third US astronaut in space. He Sulabha Brahme passed away. She was was the first to get into orbit. 84. Alan Thicke : She authored more than 50 high quality booklets in Marathi and monographs on Veteran actor Alan Thicke best known these topics to create awareness among for playing the head of the Seaver family people and to educate activists. on the popular ABC sitcom "Growing Pains," has died. He was 69. A V Sreedharan : Born in Kirkland Lake, Ontario in Former Deputy Speaker of Puducherry 1947, Thicke attended the University of Assembly and senior Congress leader A Western Ontario after graduating from V Sreedharan passed away. He was 72. secondary school. He hosted a game He was the Deputy Speaker of show, "First Impressions," in Canada, Puducherry Assembly between 2006 and as well as a talk show, "The Alan Thicke 2011. Show." Bekal Utsahi : Thomas Schelling : Veteran poet and former Rajya Sabha The former Harvard University and MP Bekal Utsahi passed away following University of Maryland professor brain haemmorhage. He was 88. Thomas Schelling was passed away at Utsahi was awarded the Padmashree in the age of 95 years. 1976 for his contribution to literature. According to collegue, Nobel Prize- Syed Abdus Salam : winning economist Thomas Schelling, who used game theory to explain nuclear Former India footballer and Coach strategy. Syed Abdus Salam, who was awarded Best Defender in the 1956 Melbourne Zsa Zsa Gabor : Olympics, died at his Salarjung Colony Zsa Zsa Gabor, the Hungarian actress, residence. He was 77. known for her life full of glamour and He also coached Andhra Pradesh and was glitz has died. She was 99. the first coach of the Sports Authority of The actress, whose love life always made Andhra Pradesh in 1981 and retired there headlines, passed away, just two months as a deputy director. of her 100th birthday. Jayalalithaa : Anupam Mishra : J JAYALALITHAA, the iconic Tamil Noted journalist, environmentalist, and Nadu Chief Minister, who scorched a water conservationist Anupam Mishra lonely, often controversial, road from passed away. He was 68. cinema to an almost mythic political www.mahendraguru.com [17] www.mahendraguru.com

Jagannatha Varma : Vera Rubin : Veteran Malayalam Film and Television A pioneering astronomer who helped actor K N Jagannatha Varma passed find powerful evidence of dark matter away. He was 77. has died. Vera Rubin was 88. An accomplished Kathakali artist, Varma Rubin's scientific achievements earned was in the Kerala Police force and had her numerous honors, including retired as Superintendent of Police. becoming the second female astronomer Michele Morgan : to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences. French screen legend Michele Morgan, who starred in some 70 movies and took Carrie Fisher : home the best actress prize at the first- Actress Carrie Fisher, who found ever Cannes film festival has died at the enduring fame as Princess Leia in the age of 96 years. original "Star Wars," has died. She was Her career flourished in the 1940s to 60. 1960s, and faded with the arrival of new Ratnasiri Wickremanayake : wave cinema. Veteran politician Ratnasiri Mehar Singh : Wickremanayake who served twice World War II veteran Mehar Singh, who as Prime Minister of passed had served with Royal Corps of Signals, away. He was 83. passed away on December 15 Wickremanayake held many key Sant Mehar Singh joined the Royal ministerial positions since 1970. Corps of Signals in 1942 and worked as Sunderlal Patwa : a despatch rider. He saw operations in Veteran BJP leader and former Madhya Imphal and during India-Pakistan war in Pradesh Chief Minister Sunderlal Patwa 1947-48. passed away. He was 92. Surendra Prasad Tarun : Balasaheb Vikhe-Patil : Former Bihar Education Minister and Veteran Congress leader and former veteran Congress leader Surendra Prasad Union Minister Balasaheb Vikhe-Patil Tarun passed away after prolonged passed away. He was 84. illness. He was 88. Considered a pillar of the cooperatives He also worked for Press Trust of India movement in the state and his family as its Rajgir correspondent in the past. credited with launching Asia's first sugar George Michael : cooperative factory in Loni, Vikhe-Patil British pop singer George Michael, who had been elected Member of Parliament rose to fame with the band Wham! And eight times from Ahmednagar. sold more than 100 million albums in his career, has died aged 53.

www.mahendraguru.com [18] www.mahendraguru.com

IMPORTANT DAYS ADR American Depository Receipt ASSOCHAM Associated Chambers of Commerce 1st Dec. World’s AIDS DAY and Industry of India 2nd Dec. World Pollution Prevention Day BSCS Basel Committee on Banking 3rd Dec. World Disabled Day Supervision 4rth Dec. Indian Navy Day CAR Capital Adequacy Ratio 7th Dec. International Civil Aviation Day CARE Credit Analysis and Research Limited 9th Dec. International Anti Corruption Day CASA Current and Savings Accounts 10th Dec. Human Rights Day DTAA Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement 14th Dec. National Energy Conservation Day EFTPOS Electronic Funds Transfer At Point Of 16th Dec. Vijay Diwas Sale 18th Dec. International Migrants Day GAAR General Anti Avoidance Rule IBBI Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of ABBREVIATIONS India ACS Automated Clearing System

www.mahendraguru.com [19] www.mahendraguru.com

SPECIAL FEATURES howitzers built by the Ordnance Factory Board. The first six Dhanush howitzers are already undergoing user India signs Rs 5000 crore M777 howitzer contract familiarization with the army's artillery units in Siachen with US and in the desert. India signed its last howitzer contracts in 1986 but a bribery controversy that broke in 1987 scuttled the acquisition of more guns. The Bofors howitzers played a decisive role in the 1999 Kargil War between India and Pakistan. An artillery modernisation plan mooted in 2000 called for acquiring over 2200 new guns but multiple bribery controversies scuttled new gun acquisitions. PM Narendra Modi wins Time's Person of the Year online readers’ poll

Ending a three-decade-old howitzer drought, India signed a contract with the US for buying 145 M777 ultralight howitzers for $737 million (Rs 5000 crore). A senior MoD official formally signed the Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) with the US government for the seven regiments of howitzers. The acquisition of the 'Ultra Light Howitzers', thus called because at 4.2 tons, they weigh only a third of normal Prime Minister Narendra Modi has won the online 155 mm howitzers. The guns, which can be carried reader's poll for TIME Person of the Year. PM Modi beat underslung by heavy lift helicopters like the Chinook, other world leaders, artists and politicians as the most will give the army tremendous flexibility especially along influential figure in 2016. the mountainous border with China. Modi has won the popular vote but the Time magazine's Sources said the first three M777 howitzers will be editors will decide the final Person of the Year. But the delivered within the next three months to allow high- online vote has given an idea how the world see these altitude and desert trials with Indian-made ammunition. personalities. The three guns will also be used to train Indian gunners. Modi won with 18 per cent of the total votes polled in the The first batch of 20 guns (18 guns make an artillery survey, which closed Sunday at midnight. regiment) will be delivered by manufacturer BAE Systems in two years. The remaining 120 guns will be assembled PM Modi was well ahead of his closest contenders, in India between 48-54 months by BAE partner Mahindra including Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Julian Defence at their plant in Faridabad, Haryana. Assange, who all received 7 per cent of the "yes" vote. Hillary Clinton got 4 per cent of the votes. The deal was cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Modi was placed far ahead of Facebook founder and November 15. It has been in the pipeline for nearly a immensely popular online personality Mark Zuckerberg, decade since the Indian army mooted the acquisition of who got only 2 per cent. the M777 Ultra Light Howitzers (ULH) from the US Commenting on the poll results, the Time magazine said, under 'Foreign Military Sales'. in recent months, Modi saw high approval ratings from According to the Dr. Joe Senftle, vice president & general Indians, according to a September Pew poll, and ratified manager for Weapon Systems at BAE Systems statement the Paris Climate Change Agreement. they look forward to providing the Indian Army with the The magazine also factored in the demonetisation decision combat-proven M777. The Company anticipates signing taken by the government. Time commented that Modi has a contract in the coming weeks with the U.S. Department come under scrutiny recently for getting rid of 500- and of Defense to supply the M777 to the army. 1,000-rupee notes, impacting cash-based businesses and The Indian army bought its first artillery guns this year threatening India's economy. after a thirty-year gap. Earlier this year, the government The analysis of poll results showed varying pattern of cleared buys of the first batch of Dhanush 155/45 mm choices in different parts of the world. Poll host Apester www.mahendraguru.com [20] www.mahendraguru.com found that "preferences differ across the world and the that are engaged in apprenticeship across the country. It United States. is MSDE’s endeavour to encourage State Government According to Apester, Modi performed particularly well support and ensure engagement with more corporates among Indian voters as well as those in California and on apprenticeship trainings. This is one direct way of New Jersey. bridging the gap between the potential employee and the employer and has models under Apprenticeship training Prime Minister unveils First Ever Indian Institute Of has benefited economies of many countries. The financial Skills of India at Kanpur year target for 2016-17 is to ensure enrolment of 5 lakh apprentices at least across the country. Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has plans to open one Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra (PMKK) each, in each district of the country creating opportunities of growth for the youth locally and the launch of some 31 PMKKs was announced by Modi at the event . Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras are iconic state-of-the-art skill development centres with modern infrastructure to facilitate skill trainings in the country.

In line with the vision of making India the Skill Capital lone Indian in ICC Women’s Team of the World by empowering its youth to be more of the Year employable and self-sustainable, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of the first ever “Indian Institute of Skills” in the country at Kanpur. The Institute has been conceptualized by the Prime Minister during his visit to Singapore’s Institute of Technical Education. Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, headed by Rajiv Pratap Rudy, in partnership with the Institute of Technical Education, Singapore decided to open an institute first ever of its kind in the country, the institute is inspired by the Singapore model of training and would adopt various best practices from the country. The Ministry has decided to have six such institutes all across. Prime Minister also inaugurated the Kaushal Pradarshini (Skill Exhibition) for the youth of Uttar Pradesh. The Exhibition showcases state-of-the-art vocational training practices across different sectors, and will remain open Indian batswoman Smriti Mandhana has been named in for public view at the Railway Grounds, Kanpur between the Women’s Team of the Year 2016, the International 19th to 22nd December. Cricket Council (ICC). Modi launched an array of skill development initiatives The women’s team of the year, which will be captained for the youth of the country, including Pradhan Mantri by West Indies’ , has been added to the Kaushal Kendras (PMKKs) and Drivers’ Training list of awards to acknowledge and appreciate outstanding Institutes. There was also strategic partnership with performances of women’s cricketers over a 12-month various industries that will train and employ approximate period. 4 Lakh youth over the next 3 years. Based on their performance between September 14, Prime Minister had shown concern about the training of 2015 and September 20, 2016, which included the drivers so to achieve his dream Ministry has decided to ICC Women’s World and the ICC Women’s open up 100 Driver Training Institutes all across India Championship, the players have been selected. soon. NSDC has signed a MoU with OLA cabs. OLA The previous Women’s ODI Player of the Year include cabs need 1 lakh drivers and we will ensure we provide Australia’s (2006), of trained drivers. India (2007), of England (2008), The Prime Minister had announced “National Claire Taylor of England (2009), Australia’s Shelley Apprentice Promotion Scheme” in the State where the Nitschke (2010), West Indies’ Stafanie Taylor (2011 and State Government has a major role in its successful 2012), of England (2014) and Australia’s implementation. There are only 23000 private companies (2015). www.mahendraguru.com [21] www.mahendraguru.com

Women’s Team of the Year (in order): Suzie Assembly at the United Nations. After the sworn-in Bates (New Zealand), Rachel Priest (New Zealand, ceremony, Guterres, 67, also addressed the General wicketkeeper), Smriti Mandhana (India), Stafanie Taylor Assembly. (West Indies, captain), Meg Lanning (Australia), Ellyse ## Addressing the UN General Assembly, the new UN Perry (Australia), Heather Knight (England), Deandra Secretary-General vowed to reform the 71-year-old Dottin (West Indies), Sune Luus (South Africa), Anya world body, making it decentralised and flexible to Shrubsole (England), Leigh Kasperek (New Zealand). improve its ability to respond to global crises. He said 12th player: Kim Garth (Ireland). the organisation is the cornerstone of multilateralism DRDO successfully test-fires India’s longest range and has contributed to decades of relative peace, nuclear capable Agni-5 missile but the challenges are now surpassing our ability to respond. ## Guterres was unanimously appointed by the General Assembly as the successor to Ban, after the 15-nation Security Council had in October 2016 decided by acclamation to send his name to the Assembly for final approval. ## Guterres will assume his new role for a five-year The Defence and Research Development Organisation tenure beginning 1 January 2017. He will serve the (DRDO) has successfully tested its indigenously organisation till ending 31 December 2021. developed intercontinental surface-to-surface nuclear capable ballistic missile 'Agni-5' from the Wheeler Island About Antonio Guterres off Odisha coast. ## He served as the UN High Commissioner for The three stage, solid propellant missile test-fired from Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015. He a mobile launcher from the launch complex-4 of the was the 10th High Commissioner for Refugees. Integrated Test Range (ITR). ## He was elected to the Portuguese Parliament in 1976, This was the fourth trial of the long range missile. where he served for 17 years. The indigenously-developed surface-to-surface missile, ## During his seven-year tenure as the Prime Minister ‘Agni-5’, is capable of striking a target more than 5,000 of Portugal, he was involved in the international km. It is about 17-metre long, 2-metre wide and has effort to resolve the crisis in East Timor. launch weight of around 50 tonnes. The missile can carry ## Born on 30 April 1949, Guterres spent more than 20 a nuclear warhead of more than one tonne. years in government and public service. Unlike other missiles of Agni series, the latest one 'Agni- ## He briefly presided over the European Council in 5' is the most advanced having some new technologies early 2000. incorporated with it in terms of navigation and guidance, ## He also founded the Portuguese Refugee Council in warhead and engine. 1991. Lot of new technologies developed indigenously were ## He graduated from the Instituto Superior Técnico successfully tested in the first Agni-5 trial. The redundant with a degree in engineering in 1971. navigation systems, very high accuracy Ring Laser Gyro based Inertial Navigation System (RINS) and the most ## Besides, Guterres is the first Secretary-General from modern and accurate Micro Navigation System (MINS) Western Europe since Kurt Waldheim who served had ensured the Missile reach the target point within few the organisation from 1972 to 1981. metres of accuracy. About United Nations Secretary-General Portugal’s Antonio Guterres appointed UN Secretary- ## The United Nations (UN) Secretary is the head of General the UN Secretariat, which is one of the principle ## Antonio Guterres, who was the Prime Minister of organs of the United Nations. He acts as de facto Portugal from 1995 to 2002, was sworn-in as the UN spokesperson and leader of the United Nations. Secretary General. He will succeed Ban Ki-moon as ## The role of the UN Secretary-General and Secretariat the ninth chief of the organisation. is laid out by Chapter XV (Articles 97 to 101) of the ## President of the UN General Assembly Peter United Nations Charter. The post lasts for five years Thomson administered his Oath of Office at a and is limited to a maximum of two terms. special plenary meeting of the 193-member General

www.mahendraguru.com [22]

www.mahendraguru.com

BHIM: Bharat Interface for Money ## Indeed, the technology through BHIM will ## Launch Date: 30 December 2016 empower poorest of the poor, small business and the marginalised section. ## By: National Payment Corporation of India(NPCI) ## The new app is expected to minimise the role of # # Based on: Unified Payment Interface(UPI) plastic cards and point of sale machines. # # The new indigenously developed payment app ## The app will eliminate fee payments for service 'BHIM' (Bharat Interface for Money) has been providers like MasterCard and Visa, which has been named after the main architect of Indian constitution, a stumbling block in people switching to digital Bhim Rao Ambedkar. payments. # # This app will create financial equality in the Country, ## The app can be used to send and receive money as envisaged by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. through smartphones. # # BHIM is a biometric payment system app using ## Money can also be sent to non UPI supported banks. Aadhar platform, and is based on Unified Payment # Interface (UPI) to facilitate e-payments directly # Bank balance can also be checked through the app. through bank. ## Currently Hindi and English are supported in the ## It was launched to stress on the importance of app, with more languages coming soon. technology and digital transactions. ## Indicating that the e-wallet app will feature ## It can be used on all mobile devices, be it a fingerprint verification in future, "Only thumb will smartphone or a feature phone with or without be needed to make a payment. internet connection. ## Thumb will be your bank now". ## The payments through the new system (BHIM App) ## People should utilize the app and support this to can be made by just a thumb impression after the curb black money and to create financial equality, bank account is linked with Aadhaar gateway. he appealed.

www.mahendraguru.com [24] www.mahendraguru.com

List of ICC Awards 2016 Winners

Sr.No. Category Person

1 ICC Cricketer of the Year (Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy) Ravichandran Ashwin (India)

2 ICC Test Cricketer of the Year Ravichandran Ashwin (India)

3 ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year Quinton de Kock (South Africa)

4 ICC Women's ODI Cricketer of the Year (New Zealand)

5 ICC Women's T20I Cricketer of the Year Suzie Bates (New Zealand)

6 ICC T20I Performance of the Year Carlos Brathwaite (West Indies)

7 ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year Mustfijur Rahman (Bangladesh)

8 ICC Associate / Affiliate Cricketer of the Year Mohammad Shahzad (Afghanistan)

9 ICC Spirit of Cricket Award Misbah-ul-Haq (Pakistan)

10 ICC of the Year () Marais Erasmus

www.mahendraguru.com [25] www.mahendraguru.com

LUCKY GRAHAK YOJANA and DIGI DHAN VYAPAR YOJANA

## Launched on: 25th December 2016 at Vigyan LUCKY GRAHAK YOJANA (CONSUMERS) Bhavan New Delhi ## Daily Reward of Rs 1000 to be Given 15000lucky ## Objective: The primary aim of these schemes is to consumers for a period of 100 days incentivize digital transactions so that electronic ## Weekly Prizes worth Rs 1Lakh, Rs 10,000 and Rs payments are adopted by all sections of the society, 5000 especially the poor and the middle class. ## 3 Mega prizes worth Rs 1 Cr , Rs 50 Lakh , Rs 25 ## Duration: The scheme will become operational Lakh with the first draw on 25th December, 2016 (as a Christmas gift to the nation) leading up to a Mega ## Eligibility: This will include all forms of transactions Draw on Babasaheb Ambedkar Jayanti on 14th April viz. UPI, USSD, AEPS and RuPay Cards but will for 2017 the time being exclude transactions through Private Credit Cards and Digital Wallets. ## Criteria: Incentives shall be restricted to transactions within the range of Rs 50 and Rs 3000. All transactions DIGI DHAN VYAPAR YOJANA (MERCHANTS) between consumers and merchants; consumers and ## Weekly prizes worth Rs 50,000 ; Rs 5,000 and Rs government agencies and all AEPS transactions will 2,500 be considered for the incentive scheme. ## 3 Mega Prizes worth Rs 50 Lakh , Rs 25 Lakh and ## Estimated Expenditure: Rs 340 Crore for the first Rs 12 Lakh Phase

www.mahendraguru.com [26] www.mahendraguru.com

NEXT HELD SPORTS & SUMMITS Events Venue BRICS Summit 2017 China FIFA World Cup 2018 Russia FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar FIFA U-20 World Cup Republic of Korea Commonwealth Games 2018 Gold coast (Australia) Olympics Games 2020 Tokyo (Japan) Winter Olympics Games 2018 Pyongyang (South Korea) Winter Olympic Games 2022 Beijing (China) Paralympic Games 2020 Tokyo (Japan) World Cup T20 Tournament 2020 Australia ODI 2019 England & Wales ODI Cricket World Cup 2023 India Asian Games 2018 Jakarta Men’s Hockey World Cup 2018 India Women's Hockey World Cup 2018 England G-20 summit 2017 Hamburg G-20 summit 2018

www.mahendraguru.com [27]