Current Affairs

Persons in News
The Vice Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Bipin Rawat will be the new Chief of Army Staff and Air
Marshal BS Dhanoa will be the next Chief of Air Staff.They will take charge on 31st December
2016.
The union minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj has been named as a '2016 Global Thinker' for
her 'novel twitter diplomacy'.
Andy Murray wins record 3rd BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
BJP led Assam government has roped in Bollywood actress, Priyanka Chopra as the brand
ambassador of state tourism.
The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has announced the appointment
of Nigeria's Environment Minister Amina Mohammed to be the UN's deputy secretary-general.
An Indian-American woman Savita Vaidhyanathan has been elected as the new Mayor of the
key Californian city of Cupertino.
An IAS officer Sunil Arora (1980-batch Rajasthan cadre) has been appointed as the Director
General(DG) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA).
PepsiCo Chairperson, Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, Elon Musk, , and CEO
and co - founder of Uber Technologies, Travis Kalanick will be a part of Donald Trump's Strategic
and Policy Forum.
V G Kannan has taken charge as Chief Executive of the Indian Banks Association (IBA) on 14th
December 2016.Now the chairman of IBA Rajeev Rishi.
Among the Forbes list of 74 of the World's Most Powerful People, PM Modi ranks 9th.Vladimir
Putin, President of Russia has topped the list for the fourth consecutive year
Antonio Guterres, a former Portuguese Prime Minister, was today sworn in as the ninth UN
Secretary-General, succeeding Ban Ki-moon as the chief of the 71-year old world body.
Anil Dhasmana appointed as new chief of Research and Analysis Wing.
Rajiv Jain appointed as new chief of Intelligence Bureau.
Malaysia enthrones new King Sultan Muhammad V.
Nana Akufo-Addo wins Ghana presidential election.
Larry Page named Worlds Most powerful CEO by Forbes
Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar has been appointed chief of Pakistans powerful spy agency ISI as part of
the first major reshuffle in the militarys top brass after new army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa
took over the reins last month.
Italys new Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni has taken office and announced his new cabinet.
Writer and scholar Akshaykumar M Kale was been elected as the President of the 90th Akhil
Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan.
New Zealands ruling National Party appointed Bill English as the countrys new prime minister on
Monday following last weeks shock resignation of his predecessor John Key.
A black civil rights leader who led a struggle against anti-black segregation and racism in Canada in
the 1940s will be the first Canadian woman to figure on a banknote.
Priyanka Chopra appointed UNICEF Global Goodwill Ambassador.
Iqbal Sayed becomes first Indian to win medal at Mr. Olympia Amateur Event.
Virat Kohli is the fifth cricketer to score three double test centuries in a calendar year.
President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad to serve as U.S. ambassador to
China.
Donald Trump is Time magazines Person of the Year.
Basketball legend, Michael Jordan, came in at number one. The Chicago Bulls legend has amassed a
massive wealth of $1.7 billion.

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 Alexander Van der Bellen elected Austrian President.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev elected Uzbekistan President.
Senior judge of the Supreme Court Justice Mian Saqib Nisar has been appointed as the next Chief
Justice of Pakistan who,will replace Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali.
Crown prince Maha Vajiralongkorn becomes Thailand's new king.
The Board of Directors of IDFC Bank has approved the appointment of Ms. Veena Mankar as the
Non-Executive Chairperson, with effect from December 09, 2016, up to July 26, 2018.
Mumbai Test: Ravichandran Ashwin equals Kapil Dev`s record of 235-wicket hauls.
Supreme Court judge Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar will be the next Chief Justice of India (CJI).
Internationally acclaimed sculptor Adwaita Gadanayak assumed charge as Director General of
the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA).
O Panneerselvam sworn in as new Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
B S Bhullar appointed Chief of Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
All India Football Federation President Praful Patel has been appointed as a senior vice president of
Asian Football Confederation.
Mangaluru girl, Srinidhi Shetty , was crowned Miss Supranational 2016 at a grand ceremony in
Krynica Zdroj, Poland.
Uzbekistans acting President Shavkat Mirziyoyev won a resounding victory in the countrys first
presidential election since the death of longtime authoritarian leader Islam Karimov.
Bernard Cazeneuve named French PM after Manuel Valls quits.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi (18% vote) has won the online readers poll for TIME magazines
Person of the Year 2016.
Flipkarts Sachin Bansal, Binny Bansal named Asian of the Year.

Obituaries
Noted Gandhian, journalist, environmentalist and water conservationist Anupam Mishra (68-year)
has passed away.
Creator of Heimlich maneuver, Dr Henry Heimlich, died at 96.
Former Planning Commission member Saumitra Chaudhuri passed away.
Bewitched, Titanic actor Bernard Fox dies at 89.
First American in orbit John Glenn passes away.
Noted journalist Cho Ramaswamy passes away.
Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa passes away.
Former international hockey umpire Phulel Singh Sujlana dies.

Awards
The Corporation Bank has received the SKOCH silver award for attaining the position of number
one channel partner of LIC of India for the past three financial years.
Miss Puerto Rico Stephanie Del Valle (19-year) was crowned Miss World 2016 at the MGM
National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland(USA).
The Indian council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) has presented Global Agriculture Leadership
Award 2016 to Interim Chairman of Tata sons Ratan Tata in Mumbai (Maharashtra).
AR Rahman is once again in the Oscars race for his work in sports biopic Pele: Birth of a
Legend.Ginga composed by Rahman to celebrate Peles soccer legacy is one of the 91 songs in the
Original Song long list for the top award to be presented in February 2017.
Vijaya Bank has been adjudged Best Bank for SME Lending by Assocham.
Helen Marten has sealed her position as one of the UKs most exciting young artists after being
named the winner of the 2016 Turner prize, her second big award in the space of a month.

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 Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo beat rival Lionel Messi to win the prestigious Ballon dOr
award for a fourth time.
Karnataka Bank Ltd has bagged the Best MSME Bank Award (private sector) 2016.
Usain Bolt wins IAAF Athlete of the year award for 6th time.

Banking
The Reserve Bank of India( RBI) will shortly issue Rs. 500 banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi New
series with the inset letter E having star mark in the number panel.
The Union Minister Arun Jaitley and Manoj Sinha has jointly launched its mobile wallet application
State Bank MobiCash for the feature and smart phones.State Bank MobiCash is the product of
State Bank of India (SBI) in partnership with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).MobiCash
will allow users to deposit cash through BSNL retail outlets and withdraw funds from their account.
Ukraine has Nemonetizati the countrys largest bank in an attempt to avert a financial meltdown in
the war-scarred former Soviet state.The government moved to take over PrivatBank after months of
rumours that the lender was heavily burdened by bad debts.
In the annual report of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) only 19
insurers remained profitable in 2015-16 of the 24 life insurance companies operating in India.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has capped the Merchant Discount Rates (MDR) for debit card
transactions up to Rs. 1,000 at 0.25% and for transactions above Rs. 1,000 and up to Rs. 2,000 at
0.5% in order to Nemonetizat greater adoption of digital payment methods.
Indian Railways ties up with SBI to install 10000 POS machines.This will help passengers book their
tickets digitally (cashless transaction) with the help of their debit or credit cards at Public
Reservation System counters .
To tap opportunities arising out of limited cash supply, SBI Cards will soon launch a credit card with
a cap of Rs 25,000 for those at the lower strata of the society, who have the capacity to pay but dont
have cards.
Nabard on Thursday announced that it will extend support to banks for deployment of two PoS
devices per village in one lakh villages of Tier 5 and 6 areas having a population of up to 10,000. The
estimated support will be around R120 crore.The sanctioning process is expected to be completed by
March 31, 2017, and the banks are expected to finish acquisition of PoS machines by December 31,
2017.
The Women and Child Development Ministry has tied up with India Post and SBI.This will offer
more payment options to buyers and simplify shipping of products bought from "Mahila E-haat", an
online marketing platform for women entrepreneurs.
2 Abu Dhabi banks to merge into largest Gulf Arab bank. Stockholders of the National Bank of Abu
Dhabi and First Gulf Bank on December 7, 2016, approved to merge into the biggest bank of all Gulf
Countries with an asset of $ 178 billion.After the merger the combined company will be named as
NBAD.
RBI to introduce new 20 & 50 rupee currency notes.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept its key short-term lending rate, or repo rate, unchanged
at 6.25 percent.the central bank also lowered its GDP growth forecast to 7.1 % for this fiscal, from
the earlier 7.6 %, due to short-term disruption in economic activities from demonetization.The
Reserve Bank also withdraw the 100 % incremental Cash Reserve Ratio from December 10.
The Reserve Bank of India has authorised the Receivables Exchange of India (RXIL), promoted by
Sidbi and NSE, to launch the country's first trade receivables exchange platform for MSMEs, buyers
and financiers.
MMTC to tie-up with SBI to sell govt minted Indian Gold Coin.The creation of a national-branded
coin, of uniform price and quality, has addressed the trust deficit that exists around the buying and

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selling of gold. It aligns with the Make in India priority of the government.The coin is available in
denominations of 5gm, 10gm and 20 gm bar.
In order to mop up extra liquidity from the system in view of demonetisation, government and the
Reserve Bank on 03rd December sharply raised the Market Stabilisation Scheme (MSS) ceiling to Rs
6 lakh crore from Rs 30,000 crore.
Mortgage major HDFC has received permission from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to raise Rs. 3,000
crore by issuing masala bonds after it exhausted a Rs. 5,000 crore limit to issue these
bonds.Through the masala bond route, an Indian company raises money overseas denominated in
Indian rupees.
Paytm has launched Each one, teach one campaign to increase the digital inclusion in the country.
The premier cyber security agency CERT-In has cautioned bankers, customers and traders against
skimming and malware attacks on micro ATMs and Point of Sale (POS) terminals.
The move comes as usage of POS and micro-ATMs counters have witnessed a sharp surge post
demonetization.

Economy/Finance
According to the union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, small traders and businesses with a turnover
of up to 2 crore rupees will pay less tax if they accept payments through banking and digital means.
The Employees Provident Fund Organisation( EPFO) has lowered the interest rate on Employees
Provident Fund (EPF) deposits for the current fiscal to 8.65% from 8.8% for FY17.
The Income Tax (IT) department will soon begin sharing with the Petroleum and Oil Ministry details
of all individual taxpayers whose annual income exceeds 10 lakh rupees to check pilferage of
subsidy on cooking gas by the higher income groups.
The Union government has revised the North East Industrial and Investment Promotion
Policy (NEIIP) -2007, stipulating that all the subsidies to industrial units will be disbursed through
the DBT mechanism.
Foreign exchange reserves of India has declined by 887.2 million dollars to 362.987 billion dollars in
the week ended this month.
The US Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark interest rate by 0 (point) 25%, first time in 2016.
A bill stipulating up to two- year jail term and a maximum fine of Rs 5 lakh for discriminating
against differently-abled persons was passed by the Rajya Sabha today.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has lowered its growth forecast for Indian economy to 7.0% as
an aftermath of demonetization.
The Public Financial Management System (PFMS) after implemented on full scale will help Union
Govt to save a significant amount on interest costs.
Digishala News launched by Central government to promote cashless economy.The TV channel was
launched by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in order to provide lessons for
cashless transactions.The TV channel will broadcast nationally on DD free-DTH service.
Govt. announces package for promotion of Digital and cashless Economy . Among the measures,
payment by card for petrol and diesel will enjoy a discount of 0.75 per cent, Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley told reporters here.
Govt decides to waive Service Tax on card transactions of up to Rs 2,000.
The Union Government has asked banks to install 10 lakh additional Point of Sale (PoS) terminals
by March 2017 to promote digital transactions across the country.
NITI Aayog will be immediately transferring 5 lakh rupees for every district in the country as seed
money to kick start to encourage digital payment system.

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National Affairs
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has dedicated countrys first cashless bazaar in Raipur to
the people.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid foundation of the first-ever Indian Institute of Skills of the
country at Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh 19 December 2016.
The five-day India-Nepal Folk Crafts Festival (INCF-2016) begins in Kathmandu, Nepal on
December 19, 2016 to promote cultural exchanges between the two countries.
Goa celebrating 55th Liberation Day.
The Centre for Good Governance has declared that Pimpri Budruk in Pune district as a cashless
village.
Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh has inaugurated two new districts Pherzawl and Noney.
CM Mehbooba Mufti flags off first children special train in valley.
National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Ltd. And National Aluminium Company (NALCO)
have jointly agreed to set up a cola based 2400 MW power plant at Gajmara in Dhenkanal district.
The Union Government will deploy 600 (One in each district) Zila Swachh Bharat Preraks (ZSBPs)
across the country to boost Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.The cadre will be funded and recruited by
the Tata Trusts.
The Union Minister of State for Tourism & Culture (Independent Charge) Mahesh Sharma has
announced in Rajya Sabha that the union govt. has extended the facility of e-Tourist Visa Scheme for
161 countries citizens.
Hailakandi has become the first district in Assam to pay wages to tea garden workers through
individual bank accounts
Punjab will provide free LPG connections to those BPL families who were missed in the 2011 Socio
Economic Caste Census(SECC) on the lines of Pradhan Mantri Ujwala Yojana.
Himachal Pradesh became sixth state/UT in the Country to achieve 100 percent Aadhar saturation on
the basis of population of year 2015.
Himachal Pradeshs first Cyber Crime Police Station was opened at state police headquarter in
Shimla.
The Supreme Court in a landmark verdict held that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India
and did not enjoy sovereign status, either under its constitution or that of India.
Sahaj International School in Kochi will be the first residential transgender school in the country and
it will be inaugurated on 30th December 2016.
The Assam Government has initiated a project to make the river island Majuli as the first
ever Carbon Neutral District in India.
Haryana became the first state in the country to launch Mahila Police Volunteer (MPV) initiative for
safety of women.
Software giant Microsoft India has launched its first full-scale Cybersecurity Engagement Centre
(CSEC) in New Delhi.
Helpline Number 14444 to be launched by Union Government for Digital Payments.
Solar Battery Station and Community Development Centre unveiled in Assam.
Indias largest indoor sports arena will come up in New Town area of Kolkata, West Bengal.
NGT imposes interim nationwide ban on manja for flying kites.
After Deen Dayalu coaches and Humsafar Express, Indian Railways is getting ready to introduce the
all new Antyodaya Express. The Antyodaya Express was first announced by Railway Minister
Suresh Prabhu in this years Railway Budget.Antyodaya Express has been envisioned as an
unreserved, superfast service, that will ply on high density routes. Antyodaya Express will be a

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long-distance, fully unreserved, superfast train service, for the common man to be operated on dense
routes.
President Pranab Mukherjee launched a 100 Million for 100 Million Campaign at Rashtrapati
Bhavan.The campaign was conceptualized by Nobel peace prize winner Kailash Satyarthi and was
organized by the Kailash Satyarthi Childrens Foundation.
The Indian state of Punjab has got its first amphibious bus, which was launched on Monday at the
Harike wetland near Amritsar. The amphibious bus was launched by Sukhbir Singh Badal, the
Deputy Chief Minister.
Biggest and first ever crop insurance claim distribution programme of Indian history took place on
December 10. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan inaugurated the programme to distribute crop
insurance claim worth Rs. 4416 crore to 20 lakh 46 thousand farmers of the state from Ujjain
district.Madhya Pradesh is the first state in the country where such a big crop insurance claim will be
distributed among the farmers.
Cyclone Vardah: 15 NDRF teams deployed in TN, Andhra Pradesh.
PM inaugurates Indias largest cheese plant in Banaskantha district.
The Sardar Patel Cricket Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad is set to become the biggest cricket stadium
in the world, as far as seating capacity is concerned. The Gujarat Cricket Association has handed the
stadiums renovation project to Larsen and Turbo (L&T).
Nitin Gadkari lays foundation stones for Rs 1152 Cr projects in Manipur.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched Narmada Seva Yatra at
Amarkantak. The five months long Yatra aims at turning the Narmada river pollution free and
unceasing river.
China has provided Rs 15.80 billion to Nepal for post-quake reconstruction activities, a senior
minister has said. The Cabinet meeting decided to accept the grants worth Nepalese Rupees 15.80
billion provided by China
The court scrapped Rajasthan Special Backward Classes (SBC) Reservation Act 2015.Provision of
5% quota to five communities, including Gujjars was provided under this act.
Serendipity Arts Festival, on the banks of river Mandovi, has been envisioned as a space which
brings together the visual, performing, and culinary arts. Taking place in Goa.
The Union Cabinet has approved the development of Pune Metro Rail Project Phase 1.The total
completion cost of the metro rail corridor will be Rs.11,420 crore.It will be a 50:50 jointly owned
company of Government of India and Government of Maharashtra.
Union Ministers Suresh Prabhu & J P Nadda has inaugurated two new coaches of the Lifeline
Express for cancer and family health services in New Delhi Railway station.It was started in 1991.
Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N Chandrababu Naidu has launched AP Purse mobile app
featuring 13 mobile banking and 10 mobile wallet options in Vijayawada.
Odisha to appoint 1000 Banking correspondents in unbanked gram panchyats.
Students of classes IX and X of In Assam will get free textbooks from academic year 2017-18 as the
State government aims to increase enrolment in the state-funded schools and reduce dropout rate.
Govt allocates Rs 100 Cr to celebrate 350th birth anniversary of Guru Govind Singh.
Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal has accorded administrative approval for implementation of
a Central scheme of 50-crore rupee National Hydrology Project.

International Affairs
United Nations Security Council has extended the mandate of its peacekeeping mission in South
Sudan till December 2017.
India and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) have set a target of trading at 100
billion dollars to be achieved by 2020.Currently, the trade between ASEAN and India is 57 billion.

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 Bangladesh is celebrating 45 years of its emergence as a new country on the map of the world on
16th December in 1971 after nine-month long 1971 Liberation War against Pakistan.
The Marvelous City or Rio de Janeiro officially has entered into the UNs list of world heritage sites.
In order to enhance cooperation in education sector between India and Egypt, Center has decided to
set up a center of Excellence in Information Technology at the Al-Azhar University which is the
oldest and most prestigious the University of Egypt.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has named Hindi language ranked 10th in the top 10 most
powerful languages on the planet.
Grant Agreement signed between India and IBRD (International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development).The agreement has been signed for additional Financing of MSME Projects for
energy efficiency.
India has said it will contribute $500,000 to the United Nations's emergency response fund for the
year 2016-17 as it stressed that the international response is falling significantly short of the
challenges posed by humanitarian crises across the world.
Worlds longest tunnel opened for commercial service.Regular rail service through the world's
longest tunnel began on Sunday, carrying passengers deep under the Swiss Alps from Zurich to
Lugano.
The 2016 World Power Language Index (PLI) in the first week of December 2016 announced that
English language is the most powerful language in the world.
New Cargo service linking Tibet with Nepal launched by China.
Pakistan's $100 million loan cancelled by World Bank.World Bank has cancelled the loan citing
various reasons including nil progress in achieving the development objectives and a lack of interest
on the part of the gas distribution company.

Sports in News
India has won the five-match test series against England (4-0) at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium
in Chennai.Karun Nairs triple century in the first innings was the key factor in the enormous win of
India.Virat Kohli is the man of the series for his 655 runs in this series
Atletico De Kolkata has won Indian Super League (ISL) football tournament against on Kerala
blasters for the second time in three years in Kochi.
India batswoman Smriti Mandhana has been named in the ICC Womens Team of the Year 2016, the
International Cricket Council (ICC) announced.
India beat Belgium(2-1) to win the Hockey Junior World Cup after a gap of 15 years at the Major
Dhyan Chand Astroturf Stadium in Lucknow (UP).This is Indias second world title.Earlier, India
won their first title in 2001 in Hobart, Australia.
Indian boxing star Vijender Singh knocked out former world Francis Cheka and retain WBOAsia Pacific Super Middleweight title(8th time) at Thyagraj Stadium in New Delhi.
Pankaj Advani grabs the World Billiard Championship Title 2016.This is Advani's 16th overall world
title and 11th world billiard's championship title (150 - Up format).
Assam Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal has inaugurated the first elite men's senior national
boxing tournament at Guwahati.
India will train Qatar police for handling the security during the FIFA World Cup 2022 scheduled to
be held in that country.
The Indian Women's cricket team has lifted the Asia Cup Twenty-20 tournament after defeated archrivals Pakistan by 17 runs in the final played at Bangkok.

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Science& Technology
Babur Cruise Missile successfully test - fired by Pakistan.The cruise missile has a range of 700
kilometers.
The world's first cloned goat bearing superfine Cashmere wool was born in north China's Inner
Mongolia Autonomous Region.
India is getting ready to test its Agni-V intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in its final
operational configuration from Wheeler Island off Odisha after two years.This will be fourth and the
final test of nuclear-capable Agni-V.Once the Agni-V is inducted, India will join the super exclusive
club of countries with ICBMs (missiles with a range of over 5,000-5,500km) alongside the US,
Russia, China, France and the UK.
The NASA has successfully launched constellation of eight mini-satellites as part Cyclone Global
Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) into space to improve hurricane forecasting.
China has launched its first fully-owned overseas satellite ground station near the North Pole
enabling it to collect satellite data anywhere on the Earth at fastest speed in the world.
Indian Navys eight landing craft utility (LCU) L-58 was launched by Garden Reach Shipbuilders
and Engineers Ltd (GRSE) in Kolkata, West Bengal.
India and Russia have agreed to extend the range of Brahmos supersonic cruise missiles beyond the
current 300 km range.
The 9th edition of exercise INDRA NAVY, an annual bilateral maritime exercise between Indian
Navy and Russian Navy will be conducted in the Bay of Bengal from 14 to 21 December 2016.
The seventh edition of India, Maldives bilateral EKUVERIN Exercise 2016 began at Kadhdhoo,
Laamu Atoll, Maldives.
India now belongs to the list of top five defence spenders in the world with more than $50 billion
devoted to its military budget, placing the South Asian country in fourth place, according to the
annual Janes Defence Budgets Report.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is building a robotic spacecraft dubbed
as Restore-L Spacecraft to refuel, repair satellites currently in orbit.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully launched remote sensing satellite
Resourcesat-2A into its dedicated orbit.
The annual bilateral maritime exercise Konkan 16 between the Indian Navy and the Royal Navy
(British Navy) started in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Indias space agency, Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), plans to launch a navigation
satellite that it would build jointly with a private firm, by March next year, beginning a process to
outsource satellite manufacturing and free its resources to focus on research and deep space
missions.
China launches Fengyun-4 satellite.China has launched a new weather satellite marking an upgrade
of its meteorological satellites in geostationary orbit.
Space Junk Collector' successfully launched by Japan.

Schemes
Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) comes into effect and continue till 31st March
2017.Declaration of undisclosed income under it can be made by any person in the form of cash or
deposits in an account with bank or post office.The PMKGY provides for 50% tax and surcharge on
declarations of unaccounted cash deposited in banks.
The Union Power Ministry is going to launch new mobile application GARV-II to provide real time
data of all six lakh villages of the country.The purpose of the mobile application is to ensure
transparency in implementation of rural electrification programme.

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 The Department of Telecom (DoT) will soon launch Tarang Sanchar portal that will let users check
radiation compliance status of mobile towers and transmitters across country.
Rajasthan government has launched a subsidised meal scheme Annapurna Rasoi'.As per the scheme,
the poor and the needy will get breakfast for Rs. 5 and lunch or dinner for Rs 8.
The Union Govt has launched Lucky Grahak Yojana to encourage consumers and Digi Dhan Vyapar
Yojana to encourage merchants for transition to digital payments.These schemes aim to give cash
awards to consumers and merchants who utilize digital payment instruments for personal
consumption expenditures.
15,000 winners will get cashback prizes of Rs 1000 each every day starting on 25 December 2016
(Christmas) and ending on 14 April 2017 (Babasaheb Ambedkar Jayanthi) under Lucky Grahak
Yojana.
3 Mega Prizes for merchants will be of Rs 50 lakhs, 25 lakh, 12 lakh for digital transactions between
8 November 2016 to 13 April 2017. It will be announced on 14 April 2017, under Digi Dhan Vyapar
Yojana.
Kerala govt launches mobile apps ArisingKerala and Whistle Now on the occasion of
International Anti-Corruption Day to fight corruption.
The Indian Army has launched a Veterans Outreach App in a bid to reach out to its ex-servicemen.
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched Haritha Keralam Mission - a comprehensive
program for creating new development perspectives by maximum utilization of opportunities
through waste management, water resources and agricultural development using organic farming.
The Union AYUSH Ministry has launched Swasthya Raksha Programme to promote health and
health education in villages.

Committees
The Union govt has formed a high-level inter-ministerial task force to look into all the strategic
aspects of Indus Water Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan.It will be headed by Prime Ministers Principal
Secretary Nripendra Mishra.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has opposed a move to establish a separate entity to regulate
payments and settlements as recommended by Ratan Watal Committee for Digital Payments.
In the wake of a child smuggling racket being unearthed in the state, the West Bengal government
announced setting up a panel for prevention of child trafficking .The panel will be headed by
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee

Important Days & Dates

The United Nation (UN) International Human Solidarity Day is annually held on 20th December to
celebrate unity in diversity.
December 10 was observed as the Human Rights Day around the world.2016 Theme or campaign:
Stand up for someones rights today.
9 December, is Anti-corruption Day and people throughout the world are taking action. Theme:
United against corruption for development, peace and security
Armed Forces Flag Day being observed on 7th December.
Dr BR Ambedkar's birth anniversary to be observed as 'Water Day' on 14 April across the India.
05 December is observed on World Soil Day.The theme of this year is World Soil Day 2016 : Soils
and pulses, a symbiosis for life.
45th Navy day in India is observed on 4th of December.
The International Volunteer Day (IVD) is observed across the world on 5th December.This year
theme is " Global Applause - give volunteers a hand".

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Books & Authors

Gymnast Dipa Karmakars coach Bishweshwar is going to co-author her memoir titled: Dipa
Karmakar: The Small Wonder.
The book titled Courts of India Past to Present released by the Supreme Court of India.
Ravindra Kumar, First IAS Officer To Scale Mt Everest Pens Motivational Book titled "Many
Everest".
Harry Potter tops Amazons best-selling books of 2016.In a just-announced list, the company puts
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts 1 & 2, Special Rehearsal Edition Script, by J.K. Rowling,
Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, in the top spot.

Summits/Conferences
The sixth edition of Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development
inaugurated by Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu in Delhi.
Shri Ramesh Abhishek, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of
Commerce & Industry, India, and Sir Dominic Asquith, British High Commissioner had jointly
inaugurated the conference in New Delhi.
The 15th Pune International Film Festival will be held from January 12 to 19.The festival director
Jabbar Patel said the theme for this year's festival is Environment.
BRICS Communication Ministers meeting chaired by Minister of State for Communication Manoj
Sinha will begin in Bengaluru.
International film festival of Kerala begins today in the capital city Thiruvananthapuram.
The Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu has inaugurated the 4th BiAnnual Photo Exhibition of All India Working News Cameramens association at Lalit Kala
Academy in New Delhi.
The five-day festival IISF(India International Science Festival)-2016 is being held from today at
CSIR National Physical Laboratory Campus in New Delhi and will continue till 11th December.
President Pranab Mukherjee has inaugurated the first ever International Gita Mahotsav in
Kurukshetra, Haryana.
5th India-Arab partnership conference held in Muscat, Oman.
The 7th World Ayurveda Congress (WAC) was held from December 2 to 4, 2016 at Science City in
Kolkata, West Bengal.
6th Heart of Asia conference held in Amritsar, Punjab.

Bilateral Trades/Agreements
India and Indonesia have signed three agreements in various areas including youth affairs and sports,
fishing and standardization to enhance strategic partnership.
India and Tajikistan have signed four agreements in areas including on double taxation avoidance,
money laundering and counter-terrorism.
Civil Nuclear Deal signed between India and Vietnam.The deals were signed in presence of Lok
Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and President of Vietnam's National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim
Ngan.

Ranks
India ranks 7th in the Global Terrorism Index.
Singapore has the highest achieving students in international education rankings.

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