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December 2017

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MOU/Agreement Countries

India Myanmar Agreement on restoration of normalcy and development of the Rakhine State, from

where thousands of Rohingya Muslims recently fled following incidents of violence

against the community.

MOU Industry/States/Others

Organizations/Institutions Purpose

Skill Development

Ministry

Maruti Suzuki They have signed an agreement to impart training to youth

and enhance their employment potential.

YES Bank European Investment Bank They will co-finance $400-million funding for renewable

power generation in the country.

Samsung India UNESCO MGIEP (Mahatma

Gandhi Institute of

Education for Peace and

Sustainable Development)

Partnership is to launch 360 video and virtual reality (VR)

content of two magnificent Indian heritage sites, the Sun

Temple in Konark, Odisha and Taj Mahal in Agra, Uttar

Pradesh.

Samsung Axis Bank Smartphone manufacturer Samsung launched its Bill

Payments on its flagship payments service, Samsung Pay in

partnership with Axis Bank.

Allahabad Bank National e-Governance

Services Limited (NeSL)

Agreement for utilizing the latter s Information Utility

Services envisaged under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy

Code, 2016.

Federal Bank LuLu Exchange (Abu Dhabi-

based)

MoU is to leverage blockchain technology for cross-border

remittances

Sohan Lal

Commodity

Management (SLCM)

HDFC Bank and IndusInd

Bank

The tie-up is to improve the farmers access to post-harvest

credits at affordable interest rates

AU Small Finance

Bank

Sahaj e-Village MoU for extending its banking service in remote areas

through Business Correspondent Agent (BC) model.

Sahaj e-Village Limited is a venture initiative of SREI

Infrastructure Finance Limited (SIFL) that has been bridging

the digital divide between urban and rural India under the

flagship of NeGP of the Government of India.

Appointments and Resignations

Name Post Institution

Rahul Gandhi President Indian National Congress (With this, Sonia Gandhi s

19-year tenure as party president has come to an

end.)

Uma Shankar Executive Director Reserve Bank of India

Dr. A. Surya Prakash Chairman Prasar Bharati Board







BJP s Sanyukta Bhatia will be the first woman to hold the Lucknow Municipal Corporation Mayor s post in 100

years after the Uttar Pradesh Municipalities Act came into being in 1916

The Union Agriculture Ministry has roped in actor Akshay Kumar for television advertisements to promote the

government s flagship agriculture schemes like soil health card and crop insurance. Besides soil health card

scheme, the actor will promote Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana,

Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana and others.

Salil S. Parekh Chief Executive Officer

and Managing Director

Infosys

Vijay Rupani Chief Minister Gujarat

Nitin Patel Deputy Chief Minister Gujarat

Jairam Thakur Chief Minister Himachal Pradesh

Justice U.D. Salvi Acting Chairperson National Green Tribunal (NGT)

Michel Coulomb Head of Sales Apple has appointed him for its operations in India.

Narinder Batra President Indian Olympic Association (IOA)

Actress Dia Mirza UN Environment s

Goodwill Ambassador

for India

Ellie Goulding Global Goodwill

Ambassador for UN

Environment

She is British singer-songwriter

Henrietta Fore (from US) UNICEF Head Appointed by United Nations

Kumi Naidoo (from South Africa) Secretary General Amnesty International

Sebastian Pinera President Chile

George Weah President Liberia

Constantino Chiwenga Vice President Zimbabwe

National Green Tribunal (NGT) Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar retired from the post after

completing his five-year tenure in December 2017.

RESIGNATIONS:

Airtel Payments Bank chief executive Shashi Arora has quit the company after a recent controversy surrounding

India s largest telecom operator and its payment bank s alleged violation of rules on using Aadhaar for its

electronic know-your-customer (e-KYC) verification process.

Awards and Recognitions

Award Name Person/Institution Extra Knowledge

India won award for putting high effort to combat Illegal Wildlife Trade

Miss Supranational 2017 Miss Korea Jenny Kim

Miss India USA 2017 Shree Saini

Mr India 2017 Jitesh Singh Deo He is from Lucknow

Mrs India contest (21-34 years) Mayanka Patel

Mrs India contest (21-34 years) Poonam Gaur

Time magazine s 2017 Person of the silence breakers The silence breakers — the women







Year behind this year s #MeToo movement

against sexual harassment in America

won the award

Vyas Samman for year 2017 Mamta Kalia For her novel Dukkham Sukkham

Mother Teresa Memorial award for

Social Justice

Actress Priyanka Chopra She has taken up the cause of fighting

for the rights of refugees and displaced

people as a Unicef Goodwill Ambassador

People for the Ethical Treatment of

Animals (PETA) 2017 Person of the

Year Award

Actress Anushka Sharma

First ever Smita Patil memorial award Actress Rekha Given for her contribution in the film

industry. National award-winning actor

Smita Patil passed away in 1986.

National Design Award G. Satheesh Reddy He is Scientific Adviser to Raksha Mantri

and Director General, Missiles and

Strategic Systems.

Yeraringan Award Prof M S Swaminathan

31st Moortidevi Award for 2017 Joy Goswami (Bengali Poet) It is the first time the award will be given

to a Bengali poet.

List of winners of Zee Cine Awards 2018:

Best actor male- Varun Dhawan for Badrinath Ki Dulhania.

Best actor female- Sridevi for Mom.

Best director- Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari for Bareilly Ki Barfi.

Best film- Golmaal Again.

Extraordinary franchisee award- Baahubali.

Global icon award- Priyanka Chopra.

Best script award- Nitesh Tiwari for Bareilly Ki Barfi.

Best music director- Amit Trivedi for Secret Superstar.

Best male playback Singer- Akhil Sachdeva for Humsafar.

Best action director- Sham Kaushal for Kaabil.

RECOGNITIONS

Sixteen-year-old Mohamad Al Jounde from Syria was awarded the International Children s Peace Prize for his

efforts to ensure the rights of Syrian refugee children.

On the eve of Christmas celebrations, international sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik created the world s biggest sand

Santa-face with the message world peace on the Puri beach of Odisha.

Superstar Salman Khan has once again maintained the top spot in Forbes India Celebrity 100 list for the second

consecutive year.

Conference and Summits

Summit Place Extra Knowledge







India will host a meeting of WTO member countries in February 2018 to muster support for food security and other

issues.

Asean-India Connectivity Summit (AICS) New Delhi Theme: Powering Digital and Physical

Linkages for Asia in the 21st Century

15th Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral meet New Delhi

Japan-India Act East Forum New Delhi

India-Australia-Japan trilateral meeting New Delhi

First meeting of 15th Finance Commission New Delhi

Shared Value Summit 2017 New Delhi

14th Inclusive Finance India Summit New Delhi

First Ever International Conference on AYUSH

and Wellness Arogya 2017

New Delhi

Bodhi Parva BIMSTEC Festival of Buddhist New Delhi

Global Partnership Summit 2017 New Delhi

International Conference on Sports Medicine

and Sports Sciences SAICON 2017

New Delhi

World Conference on Vedas, Vishwa Ved

Sammelan

New Delhi

International Tourism Mart Guwahati, Assam

Regional Conference on Good Governance and

Replication of Best Practices

Guwahati, Assam

25th National Children Science Congress Gandhinagar, Gujarat The theme of the Congress was Science

and Innovation for Sustainable

Development

3rd Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors

of AIIB

Mumbai, Maharashtra To be held in June 2018.

The theme of the meeting will be

Mobilizing Finance for Infrastructure:

Innovation and Collaboration.

Indian Science Congress Imphal, Manipur To be held in March 2018

9th International Youth Sailing Competition Krishnapatnam Port in

Nellore, Andhra

Pradesh

100th Indian Economic Association conference Guntur, Andhra

Pradesh

3rd World Telugu Conference Hyderabad, Telangana

International Sweet Festival Hyderabad, Telangana

78th Indian History Congress Kolkata, West Bengal

India International Coffee Festival (IICF) Bengaluru, Karnataka

International conference on climate change Kathmandu, Nepal

SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation)

summit

Sochi, Russia

Ministerial meeting of the UN Security Council Japan

11th World Trade Organization (WTO)

Ministerial Conference (MC11)

Buenos Aires,

Argentina

UNWTO/UNESCO World Conference on Muscat, Oman







Tourism and Culture: Fostering Sustainable

Development

International News

The UN has approved a $286 million cut in its annual budget for the next year, a 5% historic reduction in

spending .

The UN General Assembly has decided to mark the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela s birth by holding a high-

level meeting focusing on world peace ahead of the annual gathering of world leaders in September 2018. The

summit will be called Nelson Mandela Peace Summit .

The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved tough new sanctions against North Korea in response to its latest

launch of a ballistic missile that Pyongyang says is capable of reaching anywhere on the U.S. mainland.

For the first time, WHO will add gaming disorder to its International Classification of Diseases (ICD). The ICD — a

diagnostic manual that s published by the WHO — was last updated 27 years ago, in 1990.

World Health Organisation has declared Gabon a polio-free country , given the lack of new reported or suspected

cases in the central African country. Now the disease is endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan

China started trial operations of the world s biggest automated container terminal – the Shanghai Yangshan Deep

Water Port

China s domestically developed AG600, the world s largest amphibious aircraft, performed its maiden flight on 24th

December.

The world s longest glass bridge, located in China s Hebei province, was opened for the public.

Google will open a research lab focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Beijing — its first such centre in Asia -

Google AI China Centre .

Russia will create Independent Internet for BRICS Countries.

The word populism has been announced as Cambridge Dictionary s Word of the Year 2017. The dictionary defined

populism as political ideas and activities that are intended to get the support of ordinary people by giving them

what they want .

The Oxford English has come out with its Word of the Year, and it s a word called — youthquake. Oxford s

definition is as follows: A significant cultural, political, or social change arising from the actions or influence of

young people.

The online dictionary, Merriam-Webster has dubbed feminism its word of the year, meaning it is the most-

searched word on Merriam-Webster s website. Feminism can be defined as the theory of the political, economic,

and social equality of the sexes; organized activity on behalf of women s rights and interests.

British authorities have named Mount Hope as the country s new highest peak. Hope, which is sited in the part of

the Antarctic claimed by the UK, was recently re-measured and found to tower above the previous title holder,

Mount Jackson.

Saudi Arabia s Ministry of Culture and Information has announced that commercial cinemas would be allowed to

operate in the Kingdom as of early 2018. They will be re-opened after 35 years.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has announced the creation of a new virtual currency Petro in a bid to ease

the country s economic crisis.







US President Donald Trump has recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, breaking nearly 70-year-old US policy.

The US has become the first country to recognise the status of Jerusalem which is claimed as the capital by both

Israel and Palestine.

Australia has become the 26th country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage.

For the first time ever, a foreign nation has appointed a woman to be its ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi

Arabia. Belgium has done this and the woman s name is Dominique Mineur.

France s parliament has approved a law banning all exploration and production of oil and natural gas by 2040

within the country and its overseas territories. The French government claims the ban is a world first.

French sailor Francois Gabart broken the record for sailing around the world alone, circumnavigating the planet in

just 42 days and 16 hours.

Switzerland unveiled the 52 million-Swiss franc ($52.6 million) project running from Schywz to the mountain village

of Stoos.

Norway became the world s first country to shut down national broadcasts of its FM network by completing its

transition to digital radio.

National News

Russia s Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin visited India.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is back in power for the sixth straight term in Gujarat and also it has won the Himachal

Pradesh Elections. With this, the party now controls 19 of the 29 states.

The Union Cabinet approved a Bill that makes instant triple talaq or talaq-e-biddat a criminal offence and a Muslim

husband resorting to instant talaq can be jailed for up to three years. This Bill will adjudicate all cases of instant

triple talaq across the country except Jammu and Kashmir.

At least 10 leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will be taking part in the 2018 Republic

Day celebrations as chief guests.

In a bid to give users timely updates from verified users such as celebrities and organisations directly from the

source, Google announced the launch of Posts feature in India.

The government informed the Lok Sabha that it had so far infused a capital of Rs 51,858 crore in Public Sector

Banks (PSBs) under its Indradhanush Plan since 2015-16.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ockhi affected Lakshwadeep, Tamil Nadu and Kerala to take stock of

situation, and met affected people. There he announced a relief package of Rs 325 crore for all 3 states and ex-

gratia assistance of Rs. 2 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased.

The government has approved setting up of a total 42 Mega Food Parks in the country to create modern

infrastructure for food processing.

The Union Cabinet chaired by PM Modi has approved setting up of National Nutrition Mission (NNM) with a three

year budget of Rs.9046.17 crore commencing from 2017-18.

India won the election to the Council of International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in Category-B which represents

the developing countries and countries with largest interests in international sea-borne trade.

Centre announced Rs 90,000 crore for improving roads and national highways in the Northeast in the next two to

three years to facilitate better connectivity.







The Government has decided to make additional market borrowing of only 50,000 crore in the remaining period of

the current fiscal year to meet expenditure.

The Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has approved the construction of 1.12 lakh more affordable houses for

urban poor under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban).

Under PMAY(U), the government targets to provide houses to all urban poor by 2022. Currently, the shortage of

houses is pegged at 1.2 crore.

Later in the month, Ministry approved the construction of 5,45,090 more affordable houses for the benefit of urban

poor under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) with an investment of Rs. 31,003 cr with central assistance of Rs.

8,107 cr.

The go er e t has appro ed ₹ ,0 rore for pro idi g i ter et o e ti ity to people i all gra pa hayats under BharatNet project.

Centre released Rs 24,500 crore to compensate states post GST. Karnataka got maximum compensation from the

Centre at Rs 3,271 crore, followed by Gujarat (Rs 2,282 crore) and Punjab (Rs 2,098 crore).

The Centre has sanctioned 1250 crore rupees for the development of transport sector of Assam.

Home Ministry has released 167 crore rupees to nine states with international border for the development of

infrastructure in forward areas. States - Meghalaya, Punjab, Rajasthan, Bihar, Sikkim, Tripura, Assam, Himachal

Pradesh and West Bengal.

The home ministry has released Rs 174 crore to six states having an international border for development of

infrastructure in forward areas. States - Assam, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and West

Bengal.

The Union Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved a new skill development scheme (Scheme for

Capacity Building in Textile Sector (SCBTS)), covering the textile sector s entire value chain excluding spinning and

weaving in the organised sector, from 2017-18 to 2019-20 at an outlay of Rs 1,300 crore.

Government launched project DARPAN - Digital Advancement of Rural Post Office for a New India in New Delhi.

DARPAN will provide low-power technology solution which will enable each of around 1.29 Lakhs Branch Post

Offices to improve the level of services being offered to rural customers. It is targeted to complete the project by

March 2018.

Ministry of Environment and Forests has launched a pilot project named Blue Flag for beach cleanup and

development. The objective of the project is to enhance standards of cleanliness and upkeep basic amenities at

beaches.

Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad launched first NIC-CERT, a setup of National

Informatics Centre to prevent and predict cyber attacks on government utilities.

With the motto to improve labour room quality, the government has launched LaQshya, a safe delivery mobile

application for health workers who manage normal and complicated deliveries in peripheral areas.

India has announced a development assistance of $25 million for Myanmar s Rakhine State, from where thousands

of Rohingya Muslims recently fled following incidents of violence against the community.

The centre s ambitious Ganga Gram Project, aimed at holistic development of villages situated along the bank of

the holy river, was launched in New Delhi.

A new LIGO gravitational wave detector to measure ripples in the fabric of space and time is set to be built in India

by 2025, in collaboration with universities from across the globe.







Madame Tussauds has debuted in Delhi, with 50 wax models of Indian and international celebrities. Waxworks of

Bollywood actors, sports stars, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and father of the Indian nation Mahatma Gandhi are

on display at the museum. The Delhi centre is the 23rd museum for Madame Tussauds.

An online platform, electronic-Human Resource Management System (e-HRMS), has been launched for central

government employees to apply for leave and access their service-related information.

Agriculture Ministry launched Livestock Disease Forewarning –Mobile Application (LDF-Mobile App).

Nirmala Sitharaman has launched a start-up incubation centre called the Centre for Entrepreneurship

Opportunities and Learning (CEOL) in Mangaluru, Karnataka.

To combat climate change, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has approved a regional

project on Climate Resilience Building among Farmers through Crop Residue Management under the National

Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC).

India will be establishing a Centre of Excellence in Information Technology (CEIT) at Al Azhar University, Egypt s

highest religious authority and one of the world s most eminent seats of Sunni Muslim learning.

Cyclone Ockhi hit southern Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Lakshadweep

Government of India increased the budget of Agricultural Education by 47.4% this year as compared to the financial

year 2013-14.

India s Kumbh Mela (held in Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nasik) has been recognised by UNESCO as an

intangible cultural heritage of humanity .

Centre offers Rs 2.5 lakh for every inter-caste marriage with a Dalit

With 19 countries ratifying its framework agreement, the International Solar Alliance (ISA) headquartered

Gurugram became the first treaty-based international government organisation to be based in India. Australia is

the 19th member to join ISA.

In the World Energy Access report released by the International Energy Agency (IEA), IES has said that India will

achieve electricity for all by early 2020s.

India has been admitted as the 42nd member of the Wassenaar Arrangement, a global export control regime.

Kacheguda Railway Station (in Hyderabad) under the South Central Railway (SCR) has earned the unique distinction

of being the first Energy Efficient A1 Category Railway Station on Indian Railways.

The waste management system being implemented in Kerala s coastal town of Alappuzha, often called the Venice

of East , has been recognised by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as one of the five models

across the world for fighting the pollution menace.

A Public Procurement Portal MSME Sambandh was launched by the government for MSME in New Delhi.

India has been declared free from infective Trachoma which is a contagious bacterial infection of the eye. It causes

inflamed granulation on the inner surface of the lids.

With an aim to bring foreign policy to the masses the External Affairs Ministry has come up with an initiative –

SAMEEP – Students and MEA Engagement Programme . Under this MEA officials will talk to students to help them

better understand foreign policy.

UN Women in collaboration with Facebook inaugurated a two day event in Mumbai titled We The Women to

empower and recognise the magnificent contribution of women in our society.

The Union Cabinet approved the Ministry of Railways transformative initiative to set up the first ever National Rail

and Transport University (NRTU) in Gujarat s Vadodara.







India s first pod taxi project is going to get completed. The proje ted ₹ ,000-crore pod taxi scheme — also known

as Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) — is a dream project of Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, and

the NHAI has been mandated to execute it on Delhi-Gurgaon pilot corridor (12.3 km) from Delhi-Haryana border to

Rajiv Chowk in Gurgaon on a PPP (public-private partnership) basis.

India has provided medical assistance worth about $1 million to Yemen in response to a request from the Yemeni

government.

Patanjali has been ranked as India s most trusted Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) Brand by the Brand Trust

Report India Study 2017 and has been announced as the most attractive brand in India.

The Indian Navy in collaboration with the Sri Lankan navy successfully completed the second phase of the joint

oceanographic survey conducted off the South Western Coast of Sri Lanka.

State News

Andhra Pradesh

President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the Naval Maritime Aircraft Museum in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh

featuring the maritime patrol aircraft Tupolev-142M, which served the Navy for almost three decades.

The Andhra Pradesh Government in association with the UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace

and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) is planning to establish a centre of excellence for children with learning

differences as well as a gaming for e-learning hub . It will be the first of the its kind in India and in Asia-Pacific

region.

India s first Electronic Manufacturing Cluster (EMC) will be coming to Andhra Pradesh.

Bihar

Bihar government has launched Safe City Surveillance Scheme for keeping the crimes against women in check.

Chhattisgarh

Jokapatha village, a tribal village in Chhattisgarh s Balrampur district has got electricity connection for the first time.

The village had been deprived of power supply since independence.

Delhi

Dr Ambedkar International Centre inaugurated by PM Modi in New Delhi.

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has launched a new scheme for the poor that will allow them to buy

meal for Rs 10 from the civic body s kiosks during the day.

Gujarat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a unique world-class hospital at the Swaminarayan Gurukul Vidyapeeth

Pratisthanam in Ahmedabad.

Haryana

Haryana Government launched the Bhavantar Bharpai —a scheme through which the state government would

compensate farmers for price deficit for vegetable produce.

Haryana (with 69 per cent score) has topped the list in the ease of doing business rankings, according to

government data. It is followed by Telangana (68.46) and Gujarat (67.74).







India s first and only design university, World University of Design opened it campus at Sonipat, Haryana. WUD is

India s first university dedicated to education in the creative domain.

Jammu Kashmir

Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir is celebrating Losar Festival from today (19th December 2017).

Karnataka

Karnataka s capital city Bengaluru has become the first Indian city to have its own logo. The logo was designed by a

design start-up and uses both English and Kannada alphabets.

Kerala

India s largest floating solar power plant inaugurated at the Banasura Sagar dam in Wayanad district, Kerala.

The Kerala government came out with a new Ordinance raising the minimum age for liquor consumption from 21

to 23.

Lakshadweep

India is all set to get its first runway on a sea bridge soon, as the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been given a

nod to extend Lakshadweep s Agatti Airport.

Madhya Pradesh

As part of the Ekatm Yatra, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan flagged off a mobile museum,

showcasing various aspects of the life of Adi Shankaracharya, from the home of the saints mother near Kochi,

Kerala.

Maharashtra

The country s first AC local left Borivali station for its maiden journey to Churchgate in Mumbai on 25th December,

2017.

Comprising about 24 per cent of the total cess collections of Rs 30,224 crore under the Goods and Services Tax

(GST) regime, Maharashtra and then Uttar Pradesh are the top contributors among states and Union Territories in

the first five months of the rollout of the GST regime.

Mumbai Metro One launched the first mobile security product, SecuCare app to make commuters more secure.

With the help of this app, a commuter can click pictures or make videos which will get directly transmitted to the

Central Security Control Room.

Meghalaya

Meghalaya became the first state in India to operationalise a law that makes social audit of government

programmes and schemes a part of government practice after the state government launched The Meghalaya

Community Participation and Public Services Social Audit Act, 2017 .

Nagaland

President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the Hornbill Festival and State Formation Day celebrations of Nagaland in

Kisama.

Odisha







Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik unveiled the logo and mascot for the Hockey Men s World Cup 2018 at

Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

The Centre has recognised Odisha as champion state for recording highest growth in exports during 2016-17.

Eastern India s first compressed natural gas (CNG) stations inaugurated at Chandrasekharpur and Patia in

Bhubaneswar, Odisha to supply CNG to vehicles.

Rajasthan

Fino Payments Bank has signed up Rajasthan government s Rajcomp as its corporate business correspondent to

give banking services to people in the state.

Japan has decided to offer a grant worth 8.4 million Yen for the construction of a vocational training centre for poor

women and youth in Rajasthan s Baran district.

Rajasthan has become the first state in the country to offer free e-mail address in Hindi to its residents. The facility

—[email protected] (in Devanagari script) — will lead to millions of new users who are not comfortable with

English e-mail ids.

Tamil Nadu

India and Israel are coming together to set up a centre for excellence in floriculture at Thally in Krishnagiri district of

Tamil Nadu.

Telangana

The Telangana Government announced a move to set up an exclusive innovation hub on the lines of T-Hub for

women called WE-Hub, backing it with an exclusive Rs. 15-crore fund.

Telangana government will set up World s first Information Technology (IT) campus for persons with disabilities

that will focus on creating employment opportunities for them.

Internet for every household in Telangana by December 2018

Telangana created history by becoming the first state in the country offering free power to farmers 24 hours a day.

Telangana government s prestigious Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS) has finally got the green nod.

Union Cabinet approved the establishment of an International Training Centre for Operational Oceanography in

Hyderabad by Unesco.

Telangana government has announced to launch a mobile application Urban Genie which will enable citizens in

urban areas across the state to find certified technicians and workers.

Hyderabad once again launched a drive to turn Hyderabad into Beggar Free city which was earlier put to halt

after rumors that the drive was initiated because of US president Donald Trump s daughter Ivanka Trump to the

city.

Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh s Shamli district has been included in the national capital region, taking the total number of districts

in the NCR to 23.

UP has become the first State to endorse the Central government s draft bill that makes instant triple talaq a

cognisable and non-bailable offence.

UP government has launched a free household power connection scheme Prakash hai to vikas hai for the poor in

the state to mark former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee s birthday on 25th December.

UP government has proposed a Gita Research Institute for the study of the Bhagavad Gita which will be set up in

Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.







The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, laid the foundation stone of the Nyaya Gram project of the High

Court of Allahabad in Allahabad.

The official Logo and tagline for Allahabad Kumbh Mela 2019 were released in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The logo

comprises of temples, seers, a kalash & a Swastika. The tagline for Kumbh Mela 2019 is Chalo Chalo Chalo, Kumbh

Chalo. It will be held in Allahabad.

Uttarakhand

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) reiterated its 2015 order banning the use, sale, manufacturing and storage of

plastic items in the pilgrimage towns of Haridwar and Rishikesh in Uttarakhand.

West Bengal

West Bengal Green University Bill 2017 for setting up an environmental studies university at Hooghly district. With

this it has become the first state in India to setup green university.

West Bengal Govt. a ou ed a life i sura e of ₹ lakh ea h for pilgri s isiti g the state for the up o i g Gangasagar fair, the second biggest pilgrimage fair after Kumbh.

Finance and Banking News The World Bank announced that it will stop financing oil and gas exploration and extraction from 2019, seeking to

boost the global economy s shift to cleaner energy.

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) announced that India is the first country where the Bank has

committed more than $1 billion of financing.

The government has engaged private lender ICICI Bank to enable online payments at 470 mandis integrated with

national portal of electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM).

Ce tre has pu ped i apital of ₹ , rore i eak pu li se tor a ks - Bank of India, IDBI Bank, Uco Bank,

Bank of Maharashtra, Dena Bank and Central Bank of India. These banks are kept under Prompt Corrective Action

(PCA) in last 10-11 months. The capital is provided to help them meet their equity requirements and enable them

to resume normal business.

India s first home-grown high purity gold reference standard – the Bharatiya Nirdeshak Dravya (BND-4201) – was

launched at the India Government Mint, Mumbai. BND-4201, which is the reference material for gold of 9999

fineness (gold that is 99.99 per cent pure), will be beneficial to the consumers and public at large to ensure purity

of gold.

GOI has decided, Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) applicable on all debit card/BHIM UPI/ AePS transactions up to

and including a value of Rs 2000 will be be borne by government for 2 years with effect from 1 January, 2018 by

reimbursing same to the banks. MDR is the rate charged to a merchant by a bank for providing debit and credit

card services.

RBI placed Bank of India and United Bank of India under prompt corrective action (PCA) framework. BOI and UBI

became 9th and 10th bank respectively to be put under PCA in last 10 month. Also, this is the second time in four

years that UBI came under regulatory sanctions and be forced to take corrective measures for strains in financials.

RBI imposed a monetary penalty of Rs. 30 million on IndusInd Bank for non-compliance with the directions issued

by RBI on Income Recognition and Asset Classification (IRAC) norms.

According to Reserve Bank data, bad loans of Public sector banks (PSBs) stood at Rs 7.34 lakh crore by the end of

second quarter (September 30) this fiscal, a bulk of which came from corporate defaulters. However, on the other

hand private sector banks non- performing assets (NPAs) were considerably low at Rs 1.03 lakh crore by

September 30.







According to the Reserve Bank of India s (RBI) Financial Stability Report (FSR), gross non-performing assets (GNPAs)

might rise from 10.2 per cent of gross advances in September 2017 to 10.8 per cent in March 2018 and further to

11.1 per cent by September 2018.

The Reserve Bank of India s (RBI) Fraud Monitoring Reports showed that the scheduled commercial banks

including select financial institutions lost Rs 16,789 crore due to frauds in 2016-17.

RBI announced that overseas branches and subsidiaries of Indian banks have been permitted to refinance external

commercial borrowings (ECBs) of AAA rated public sector and private sector companies. Earlier ECB refinancing,

was so far restricted to only foreign lenders.

RBI increased limits for investment by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) for the January-March 2018 quarter by

₹ , 00 rore i Ce tral Go er e t Se urities G-Se s a d ₹ , 00 rore i State de elop e t loa s SDLs . RBI has launched an SMS campaign and a missed-call helpline to warn people against scams like fraudsters

promising prize money from the RBI.

Helpline number – 8691960000. The missed call to this helpline number is returned with another call that provides

more information on steps to be taken in such cases.

Public sector Bank of Baroda has entered into an agreement with Italian bank UniCredit S.p.A. to acquire its 51 per

cent stake in Baroda Pioneer Asset Management Company, thus increasing its shareholding to 100 per cent.

OBOPAY, the global mobile payment solutions company, recently announced that the company has secured

alicense for Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) from the Reserve Bank of India to operate a semi-closed loop wallet

in the country.

US buyout giant KKR & Co has become the first foreign investor to fully own an asset reconstruction company

(ARC) in India as it received approval from the Reserve Bank of India

India s largest digital bank Paytm Payments bank has unveiled Paytm Ka ATM outlets that allows customers to

open Saving Accounts and deposit/withdraw money from their bank accounts.

Axis Securities, a subsidiary of Axis Bank, has become the first-ever broking arm of a bank to take membership of a

commodity exchange by registering itself with NCDEX.

Yes Bank has established a Medium Term Note (MTN) programme to raise USD 1 billion (over 6,400 crore) by

issuing debt securities on private placement basis.

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company has started adoption of digital branch services through its offering Mosambee

to add depth and breadth to its service offerings.

The Financial Services Commission, Mauritius has opened its representative office in Mumbai, a move that will

further strengthen and deepen its partnership with its Indian counterparts.

Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Limited has been awarded the prestigious Golden Peacock

Award for Risk Management for the year 2017.

Fifth bi-monthly policy review

The RBI maintained its projection for FY18 real GVA growth at 6.7 per cent, saying the risks are evenly balanced.

Also the RBI expects the inflation to stay in 4.3-4.7 per cent in December and March quarters.

Current Monetary Policy Rates:

Repo Rate: Unchanged at 6%

Revrese Repo Rate: Unchanged at 5.75%

Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) Rate: Unchanged at 6.25%

Bank Rate: Unchanged at 6.25%

Cash Reserve Ratio: Unchanged at 4%







Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR): Unchanged at 19.5%

Business News Bharti Airtel, the telecommunications service provider, has acquired a strategic stake in Juggernaut Books, a digital

platform to discover and read high quality, affordable books and to submit amateur writing.

Bharti Airtel entered into a definitive agreement with Millicom International Cellular S.A. under which Airtel

Rwanda Limited will acquire 100 percent equity interest in Tigo Rwanda Limited.

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJio) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire specified assets of

debt-laden Reliance Communications (RCom) and affiliates, controlled by his younger sibling Anil Ambani.

Amazon has acquired a startup named Blink that builds wireless home monitoring systems, including connected Wi-

Fi home security cameras.

Apple announced that it has acquired song recognition company Shazam. The deal is worth $400 million.

Nod given to Bharti Airtel and Tata to merge Consumer Mobile Businesses (CMB) of Tata Teleservices Ltd (TTSL) and

Tata Teleservices Maharashtra Ltd (TTML) into Bharti Airtel.

CCI has approved the scheme of amalgamation between IndusInd Bank and Bharat Financial Inclusion.

Ride-sharing platform Ola announced that it has acquired Foodpanda s India business from Germany s Delivery

Hero in exchange for Ola stock.

Direct-to-home (DTH) operator Dish TV India Ltd has announced that that the company has received the final

approval from the government for closing its merger with Videocon d2h, the DTH arm of Videocon Industries Ltd.

The new entity will be called Dish TV Videocon Limited.

Carlyle Group has completed the acquisition of GE Capital s entire 26 percent stake in SBI Card, which is the second

largest and credit card issuer in the country.

To boost inflows of foreign funds into Indian capital markets, regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India

(Sebi) raised the investment limit for FPI in central government securities to over Rs 1.91 lakh crore from January 1,

2018.

India s largest mobile-first financial services platform, Paytm announced that its app has crossed the 100 million

milestone on Google Play Store in the second week of December 2017.

Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) has entered into a definitive agreement with digital classified

firm Quikr, to transfer its entire shareholding in HDFC Realty Limited, a real estate brokerage platform; and, HDFC

Developers Limited (which runs the HDFC RED platform) to Quikr.

The United Kingdom has topped Forbes rankings of best countries in the world for business in 2018 for the first

time, up from fifth last year. The UK is followed by New Zealand and the Netherlands, while India was ranked 62nd

on the list.

Economy News The Reserve Bank of India s (RBI) weekly statistical supplement showed that India s foreign exchange (Forex)

reserves kitty increased by $1.20 billion as on November 24, 2017. The overall Forex reserves rose to $400.74

billion from $399.53 billion reported for the week ended November 17.

Asian Development Bank said that the economies of developing countries of Asia are expected to record a 6%

growth in 2017

Asian Development Bank (ADB) lowered its Indian GDP forecast for the 2017 to 6.7 per cent.







According to Fitch s December Global Economic Outlook (GEO), the global ratings agency reduced the growth

forecast for the fiscal year to end-March 2018 (FY18) to 6.7% from 6.9%.

According to the United Nations, India can achieve an 8% growth rate for the next two decades by promoting

investment and improving the living conditions of its people.

According to UN s World Economic Situation and Prospects 2018 report, Indian economy is likely to grow by 7.2%

in 2018 and go up further to 7.4% in 2019.

Global investment bank Nomura has predicted India s economy to register a 7.5 per cent growth rate in 2018

India s GDP growth to rise to 7.5% in 2018: Morgan Stanley

India s April-November fiscal deficit remained at 112% of full year s target — Rs 6.12 lakh crore — of the full year s

target of Rs 5.46 lakh crore.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley announced that despite the slowdown in 2016-17, as per the IMF, India was the

fastest growing major economy in 2016 and second fastest growing major economy in 2017 in the world.

According to rating agency Standard & Poor s (S&P), Indian banking sector has been classified under Group 5 . The

other countries in group 5 are Spain, Ireland, Italy, Panama, Bermuda, Poland, Peru, Qatar, South Africa and the

UAE.

According to a report by CARE Ratings, India has the highest level of non-performing assets (NPA) among BRICS

countries and is ranked 5th on a list of countries with the highest levels of NPAs. Greece topped the list.

India s GDP growth may rebound to 7.5% in 2018: Nomura

India Set To Be 5th Largest Economy in 2018, Overtaking UK, France, according to a report by UK s Centre for

Economics and Business Research (CEBR). China is likely to overtake the US as world s largest economy in 2032,

CEBR added.

Govt cuts small savings interest rates by 20 bps

The government has reduced the interest rates on small saving schemes, including National Savings Certificates

(NSCs), Public Provident Fund (PPF) and Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP), by 0.2 percentage point for the fourth quarter

of the fiscal (January-March).

The interest rate on the one-year time deposit has been lowered to 6.6 percent as compared to 6.8 percent in the

October-December quarter, whereas the 2-year time deposit will now fetch a lower interest rate of 6.7 percent from 6.9

percent in the previous quarter.

For small saving schemes, new interest rates (for January-March) are:

Public Provident Fund (PPF) – 7.6%

National Savings Certificates (NSCs) – 7.6%

Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) – 7.3%

Senior Citizen’s Savings Scheme of five-year period – 8.3%

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana for the girl child – 8.1%

Science & Technology Tech giant Google announced the launch of Files Go app that takes a mobile-first approach to freeing up space,

finding files faster and easily sharing them with others, even when offline.







NASA has announced the discovery of an eight planet orbiting Kepler-90, a star comparable to the Sun located

2,545 light-years from the Earth. With eight planets, the Kepler-90 system equals our own system in terms of the

number of planets orbiting a single star. Astronomers have yet to detect a system with more than eight planets.

Defence News The Indian Coast Guard on 29 November 2017 conducted a Regional Level Marine Oil Pollution Response Exercise

Clean Sea – 2017 at sea off Port Blair, capital of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The Indian Army s Southern Command, conducted exercise Hamesha Vijayee from December 16 till December 22

in the general area of Barmer and Jaisalmer in Rajasthan.

The two-week long eighth edition of the Indo-Maldives joint military exercise, Ekuverin , came to an end at

Belagavi, Karnataka.

Indian Navy conducted the joint naval exercise Naseem-Al-Bahr with the Oman Navy. The exercise is also known as

Sea Breeze. The exercise was conducted in Muscat, Oman.

The Surface to Air Missile AKASH with indigenous radio frequency seeker against target Banshee has been

successfully launched from Chandipur, Odisha. With this success, India has achieved the capability of making any

type of Surface to Air Missile.

India has successfully test-fired its indigenously developed Advanced Air Defence (AAD) supersonic interceptor

missile, capable of destroying any incoming ballistic missile in low altitude, from a test range in Odisha.

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has commissioned its sixth and final 105M Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV), ICGS Sujay

during a ceremony in Goa, on Dec. 20.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned India s first indigenous Scorpene-class submarine Kalvari into the

Navy at Mumbai s Naval Dockyard. The 1,565-tonne INS Kalvari is India s first new diesel-electric submarine in 17

years and will be followed by five other Scorpe e su ari es u der the ₹ ,000-crore Project-75 . Named after

the first Foxtort-class submarine, INS Kalvari was inducted into the Navy on December 8, 1967.

Sports News

Tournament Winner Other Info South Asian Regional Badminton Tournament India Beat Nepal to win the tournament

ICC Intercontinental Cup Afghanistan Beat UAE

SAFF U15 Women s Championship Bangladesh Beat India

World Rapid Chess Championship Viswanathan Anand The Championship held in Saudi Arabia

for the first time

61st National Shooting Championships - Men s

50-metre pistol national title

Jitu Rai Held in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

Royal Cup Shiv Kapur Held in Pattaya, Thailand

Badminton Junior Nationals (U-17 & U-19 singles

titles)

Aakarshi Kashyap

Commonwealth Wrestling Championship (62kg

women s freestyle category)

Sakshi Malik

Commonwealth Wrestling Championships (74kg

men s freestyle category)

Sushil Kumar

Joburg Open golf tournament Shubhankar Sharma







Men s Hockey World League title Australia By beating Argentina. India won Bronze

by beating Germany.

The tournament was held at the Kalinga

Stadium, Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

Ballon d Or Cristiano Ronaldo He won the Ballon d Or for a fifth time

Sports

M C Mary Kom and Sushil Kumar resigned as the national observer for Indian boxing.

India has become the first-ever team to register 300+ totals 100 times in ODIs, after posting 392/4 against Sri Lanka

in Mohali.

Khelo India, a programme strives to promote Sports for All as well as Sports for Excellence,will be launched at a

cost of Rs.1,756 crore. 2018 will be celebrated as Year of Sports.

BCCI announced that India will host 81 more home games in the 2019-23 cycle.

Virat Kohli became the fourth fastest Indian batsman to reach the landmark of 5,000 runs in the five-day format on

the opening day of the third and final cricket Test against Sri Lanka.

Captain Virat Kohli surpassed Brian Lara to set the record for most double centuries scored by a Test captain on the

second day of the third and final Test against Sri Lanka in Delhi.

Rohit Sharma became the first-ever player in ODI history to hit three double hundreds, slamming his third in the

Mohali ODI against Sri Lanka.

World youth champion Sachin Siwach has been named the Asian Boxing Confederation s best youth boxer of the

year.

Prithvi Shaw named India s captain for U-19 World Cup to be held in 2018 in New Zealand.

BCCI has appointed former India wicketkeeper Saba Karim as General Manager, Cricket Operations.

To promote football in India, the Premier League has forged a partnership with Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh.

Visually impaired swimmer Kanchanmala Pande scripted history by becoming the first Indian to win gold at the

World Para Swimming Championship, held in Mexico.

Former AC Milan and Real Madrid midfielder Kaka, who lifted the 2002 World Cup with Brazil, announced his

retirement from football.

Roger Federer has been voted BBC overseas sports personality of the year for a record fourth time.

India captain Mithali Raj was named in the ICC women s ODI team of the year while left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht was

the lone cricketer to find a place in the both the ODI and T20 Teams of the year announced by the world body.

World No. 2 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan won the women s singles title in Dubai World Badminton Superseries

defeating top Indian shuttler PV Sindhu, who had to then settle for silver.

India s men and women s hockey teams remained in the 6th and 10th positions respectively in the rankings

revealed by the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

India football team remained stagnant on the 105th position while Germany finished first to be named the Team

of the Year in the FIFA rankings released in December 2017.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the Tribal Sports Meet 2017, a first-of-its kind event in the

country to promote sports among tribals in Odisha. Patnaik also unveiled the logo of the event and mascot of the

meet Olly .







India will host the Senior Women s World Boxing Championships in 2018 and the Senior Men s World

Championships in 2021.

Delhi will host India Open boxing tournament from Jan 28, 2018.

Melbourne (city in Victoria, Australia) will host Golf World Cup in 2018.

The emblems of the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, respectively named Winter Dream and

Flight, have been unveiled in Beijing, China.

England women s cricketers won the Team of the Year award at the BBC Sports Personality show after their 2017

World Cup triumph.

Russia has been banned from the 2018 Winter Games by the International Olympic Committee. 2018 Winter

Games will be hosted by Pyeongchang County, South Korea.

The first ever International Wheelchair Cricket Tournament was organised in Nepal s Kathmandu. The tournament

has participation of teams from Nepal, India and Bangladesh.

FIFA lifted two-year ban imposed on Kuwait s football federation.

Shooting Excluded from 2022 Commonwealth Games going to be hosted by Birmingham, England.

Australia won the Ashes for the 33rd time after defeating England.

Committee

Head of Committee Purpose Amitabh Kant Panel to address the problem of stressed assets in India s power sector. Kant is NITI

Aayog s chief executive.

Narendra Singh Tomar

(Housing and Urban Affairs

Minister)

A 30-member central advisory council is formed by govt., which will play key role in

protecting the interest of consumers while advising government on implementation

of the Real Estate Regulation Act (Rera).

Dr. Kirti Bhushan The Delhi government under Dr. Kirti Bhushan set-up a nine-member expert

committee to look into the functioning of private hospitals and nursing homes and

recommend norms to be followed the clinics, including capping the profit margin on

medicines and consumables.

Rankings

Index India’s Rank Other Information Global Prosperity Index 100 1st – Norway. [It is The Legatum Prosperity Index 2017 ]

According to a survey of Expedia Vacation Deprivation Report 2017, globally India has been ranked as the 5th most

vacation deprived country due to heavy work schedule, with 60 percent respondents corroborating with the view.

South Korea stood at number one position.

According to the World Migration Report (2018) , published by the International Organisation for Migration, a UN

agency, the Indian diaspora is the world s largest, with slightly more than 15.6 million Indians residing overseas.

After India, Mexico has the second largest diaspora.

Rankings (Persons,Cities,Organisations and Others)

As per the report titled, “Office Space Across the World 2017”, Delhi-NCR ranks at 84th position in the list

of most expensive office locations globally. With rental values almost as high as ₹ 430 per square feet per







month, Delhi and NCR is the most expensive office location in the country followed by Bandra-Kurla

Complex (BKC) in Mumbai.

Loans from Banks

From To Amount Purpose World Bank India $40 million The loan amount is for U.P. Pro-Poor Tourism Development

Project .

World Bank India $318 million The loan amount is for the Tamil Nadu Irrigated Agriculture

Modernization Project to promote climate resilient agriculture

technologies, improve water management practices, and

increase market opportunities for small and marginal farmers.

World Bank India $125 million Credit is for the Skills Strengthening for Industrial Value

Enhancement Operation (STRIVE) Project

World Bank India $250 million Loan amount is for the Skills Acquisition and Knowledge

Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) Project

Asian

Development

Bank (ADB)

Reliance $583 million The loan is given to develop the Reliance Bangladesh Liquefied

Natural Gas (LNG) and Power Project

ADB India $346 million To fund highway upgradation project in Karnataka.

Asian

Infrastructure

Investment Bank

(AIIB)

India $335 million The loan is to finance a 100-per cent electric metro rail project

- Bangalore Metro Rail Project?Reach 6 (R6) - in Bangalore.

A Loan agreement and a Guarantee agreement for providing additional funding of Euro 20 million was signed

between India and Germany for the project Pare Hydroelectric Plant (in Arunachal Pradesh) under Indo-German

Bilateral Development Cooperation.

Deadlines/ Important Dates

What for Deadline/Date Deadline of linking of Aadhaar card with bank accounts, mobile numbers and

various other schemes

March 31, 2018

In an eco-friendly measure to cut power consumption, the Indian Railways has

planned to make all stations cent per cent LED lit by

March 31, 2018

Deadline to paste price stickers on unsold packaged products to reflect new MRP

post GST

March 2018 (earlier it was

December 2017)

Completion of the work of installing bio-toilets in all passenger trains By March 2019

Seaplanes to Link Small Towns (The government is speeding up the process to

frame norms for the mode of transport, and has decided to allow them under the

regional connectivity scheme.)

before the 2019 general

elections

Books







Book Author/s Other Info Veteran lyricist Gulzar has come out

with his debut novel titled Two in

English which examines the status of

refugees after the Partition.

Bollywood: The Films! The Songs!

The Stars!

co-authored by S.M.M.

Ausaja, Karan Bali, Rajesh

Devraj and Tanul Thakur

It is a coffee table book, which provides

historical insights, lesser-known facts and

behind-the-scene exclusives of the most

iconic movies made in the history of the

Indian film industry.

Trivendra Ek Zindaginama –

Khairasain ka Sooraj

Nandan Singh Bisht It is a biography of Uttarakhand s Chief

Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat

The Way I See It — a Gauri Lankesh

Reader

Edited by writer and

sociologist Chandan Gowda

It is a book containing selected writings by

late journalist Gauri Lankesh who was shot

dead by some unidentified men some time

ago.

Obituaries

Name Profession Other Info Chaudhary Prem Singh Politician

Banwari Lal Joshi Delhi s former Lt Governor

Ashok Mattoo Sports Administrator He headed the national boxing and hockey

federations at different times

Lalji Singh Scientist He is called the Father of DNA finger printing

in India

M V Pylee Educationist

Neeraj Vora Actor-director

Shashi Kapoor Bollywood actor Veteran Bollywood actor and the romantic

screen icon of the 70s and early 80s, Shashi

Kapoor who immortalised the line Mere Paas

Maa Hai , died this evening after prolonged

illness.

Partha Mukhopadhyay Bengali Actor

Jatileswar

Mukhopadhyay

Bengali Singer

Rabisankar Bal Journalist and Bengali author

Adarsh Sen Anand Former Chief Justice of India (CJI)

Purabi Mukhopadhyay Rabindrasangeet singer

Adithyan South Indian music director

Ja Ra Sundaresan Tamil journalist and humourist

Sukharanjan Sengupta Journalist

Daljit Singh Doctor (Ophthalmologist) He was a surgeon, teacher, researcher,

activist, poet and later even a politician.

Sue Grafton American Author She was author and creator of the Alphabet







Series of mystery novels.

Robbie Malinga Musician He was a legendary South African musician.

Important Days

Date Day Extra Info

1 December World AIDS Day Theme: Right to health

2 December International Day for the

Abolition of Slavery

2 December World Computer Literacy Day

3 December International Day of Persons

with Disabilities

Theme: Transformation towards

sustainable and resilient society for all

4 December Indian Navy Day

5 December World Soil Day Theme: Caring for the planet starts from

the ground

5 December International Volunteer Day

for Economic and Social

Development

Theme: Volunteers Act First. Here.

Everywhere.

7 December International Civil Aviation

Day

Theme: Working Together to Ensure No

country is Left Behind

7 December Indian Armed Force Flag Day

9 December International Anti-Corruption

Day

Theme: United against corruption for

development, peace and security

10 December Human Rights Day

11 December International Mountain Day Theme: Mountain Under Pressure: climate,

hunger, migration

12 December Universal Health Coverage

Day

12 December International Day of

Neutrality

14 December National Energy Conversation

Day

16 December Vijay Diwas

18 December International Migrants Day Theme: Safe Migration in a World on the

Move

18 December National Minority Rights Day

20 December International Human

Solidarity Day

22 December National Mathematics Day The day is observed to mark the birth

anniversary of famed Indian

Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan.

23 December Kisan Diwas/Farmers Day







24 December National Consumer Day

25 December Good Governance Day The day is observed to mark the birth

anniversary of former PM Atal Bihari

Vajpayee







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