1. Karan Adani appointed as CEO of Adani Ports

1. Karan Adani appointed as the CEO of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. (APSEZ), with effect from 1st of January, 2016.

2. He replaces Sudipta Bhattacharya, who will now take charge as the CEO for North America.

3. Karan, 27, is the eldest son of Adani Group’s founder chairman Gautam Adani and is an economics graduate from US’s Purdue University.

4. APSEZ is India’s largest private multi-port operator.

2.   Amitabh Kant takes additional charge as NITI Aayog CEO

1. Industry Secretary Amitabh Kant will take up additional responsibility of the CEO of NITI Aayog, with effect from December 31, 2015. He replaces Sindhushree Khullar.

2. Kant, an IAS officer of 1980 batch of Kerala Cadre is currently serving as Secretary of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

3. The decision was taken by Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) in a major secretary-level reshuffle.

4. Special Secretary of the Depart of Public Enterprises Neeraj Kumar Gupta replaced Aradhana Johri as the Disinvestment Secretary, while the latter was appointed as the chairperson of the National Authority for Chemical Weapons.

5. West Bengal Chief Secretary Sanjay Mitra was appointed as the new Secretary in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

6. Special Secretary in the revenue department Rashmi Verma replaced Sanjay Kumar Panda as the Textiles Secretary.

3.   Famous sci-fi author George Clayton Johnson passes away

1. Popular sci-fi author George Clayton Johnson recently died due to cancer, aged 86.

2. He was well-known for his dystopian novel Logan’s Run. The book was made into a film and won a special achievement Oscar for its visual effects.

3. Johnson was the scriptwriter of the first episode of Star Trek television series.

4. He also wrote several episodes for the TV series The Twilight Zone, the 1960-film Ocean’s 11, etc.

4. China passes its first anti-terrorism law      

1. China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee approved the Anti-Terrorism Bill, 2015, in order to tackle terror threats and help strengthen global security.     

2. It is China’s first anti-terrorism law, which will come into effect from January 2016.

3. The law will legally back China’s counter-terrorism initiatives and its collaboration with the international society.

4. However, experts have raised concerns about violation of human rights of citizens. Other countries also spoken
against the provision that requires technology companies to submit technical
information when the police/state security officials demand it for
investigating or thwarting terrorist attacks.

5. The US expressed concern that this may be used to force foreign technology companies to assist Chinese authorities in espionage.

5.  Globe Soccer Awards 2015 announced

1. The Globe Soccer Awards 2015 were conferred in Dubai.

2. It was instituted by BC Bendoni Consulting and is the first and only award ceremony for the Best Club Director and the Best Agent of the Year.

3. Following are the winners across categories-

                              Award                                                  Winner

                  Best Player of the Year                                Lionel Messi

                  Best President of the Year                          Josep Maria Bartomeu

                  Best Club of the Year                                  F.C. Barcelona

                  Best Media Attraction in Football               F.C. Barcelona

                  Best Coach of the Year                               Marc Wilmots

                  Best Agent of the Year                               Jorge Mendes

                  Best Referee of the Year                            Ravshan Irmatov

                  Best Academy of the Year                          Benfica

6.  Farhan Akhtar named brand ambassador of Nutrilite

1. Amway India recently appointed actor Farhan Akhtar as brand ambassador to promote its Nutrilite range of products, a leading player in dietary supplements and vitamins.

2. Nutrilite contributes over 50% of Amway India’s turnover.

3. Amway India CEO Anshu Budhraja said that the company wanted a strong and credible face to help people grasp the importance of supplements to lead a healthy lifestyle.

7.  Civil Aviation Ministry approves 4 greenfield airports

1. The Civil Aviation Ministry has given clearance for four greenfield airports – three in Andhra Pradesh and one international airport at Dholera in Gujarat.

2. The airports in Nellore and Kurnool districts of Andhra Pradesh will be constructed under a public-private partnership. The Bhogapuram airport will come up nearly 40 kms from Vizag.

3. Dholera airport is proposed to be developed on 3525 acres of land owned by the state government. It is expected to have two runways and the terminal building will have a capacity for 1200 domestic and international passengers.

4. A greenfield airport is a new airport constructed on an undeveloped site, for instance- the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru and Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad.    

8. RBI releases Deepak Mohanty Committee report on Medium-term Path on Financial Inclusion

1. The 14-member committee headed by RBI Executive Director Deepak Mohanty has released the report on Medium-term Path on Financial Inclusion.

2. The committee was constituted on July 15, 2015, with the objective of working out a medium-term (five year) measurable action plan for financial inclusion.

3. Some of the salient recommendations of the committee are-

a)  Banks have to make special efforts to step-up account opening for females, and the Government may consider a deposit scheme for the girl child – Sukanya Shiksha – as a welfare measure.

b) Given the majority of individual account holdings (94% of total credit accounts), a unique biometric identifier such as Aadhaar number should be linked to each individual credit account and the information shared with credit information companies to enhance the stability of the credit system and improve access.

c) Several other recommendations on credit infrastructure and governance systems were made by the committee.

 9. Oscar-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler passes away

1. Renowned cinematographer Haskell Wexler recently passed away in California. 

2. Haskell Wexler was one of the most creative and significant cinematographers and was best known for the Oscar-winning movie ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’.

3. Wexler won Oscars for his work on “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and “Bound for Glory”.

4. He was also the first cinematographer to receive star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1996.

10. Vijay Kelkar committee releases report on revitalising PPP Model

1. The nine-member committee headed by former Finance Secretary Vijay Kelkar released the report on revisiting & revitalising Public Private Partnership (PPP) Model.

2. The committee was instituted on May 26, 2015 in order to review the experience of PPP policy and suggest measures to improve capacity-building in the government for their effective implementation.

3. Some of the highlights of the report –

a) PPPs in infrastructure refer to the provision of a public asset/service by a private partner who has been conceded the right (the “Concession”) for the purpose, for a specified period of time, based on market-determined revenue streams that allow for commercial return-on-investment.

b) PPPs are a valuable instrument to expedite infrastructure development in India, which is a must for India to grow rapidly and generate a demographic dividend for itself besides tapping into the large pool of pension and institutional funds from aging populations in developed countries.

c) It is essential to strengthen the three key pillars of PPP framework, namely Governance, Institutions and Capacity, in order to build on the established foundation for the next wave of implementation.

11. Taxpayers with income of over 10 lakh not eligible for subsidised LPG

1. In a move to curtail the supply of subsidised cooking gas, the government has announced that taxpayers with an annual income of more than Rs.10 lakh will not get subsidised LPG cylinders starting 2016.

2. The government started the ‘Give It Up’ campaign appealing people who can afford the market price to give up using subsidised LPG.

3. All domestic households are entitled to 12 cylinders of 14.2 kg each at subsidised rate of Rs.419.26, while the market price of each cylinder is Rs.608.  

4. According to statistics, over 52 lakh consumers have reportedly surrendered their subsidy.

12.  Vinay Mohan Kwatra appointed as Joint Secretary in PMO

1. Vinay Mohan Kwatra has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office, replacing senior IFS officer Jawed Ashraf.

2. Kwatra is an IFS officer from the 1988 batch and was previously appointed in the PMO as Officer on Special Duty.

3. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet approved his appointment for the balance period of his three-year central deputation tenure.

13. India is Asia’s deadliest country for journalists

1. As per report by media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), India is Asia’s deadliest country for journalists.

2. Nine journalists were murdered in India in 2015. While some were on assignments on organised crime and its links with politicians, others were covering illegal mining.

3. Globally 110 journalists were killed, of which 67 were killed in the line of duty and 43 died in undetermined circumstances.

4. Even 27 non-professional “citizen-journalists” and seven other media workers were also killed and “two-thirds were killed in countries ‘at peace’.”

14. China launches observation satellite Gaofen-4

1. As part of its high-definition Earth observation project, China recently launched observation satellite Gaofen-4 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre.

2. The satellite was launched through the Long March-3B carrier rocket and was this year’s 19th space mission.

3. It is China’s first geosynchronous orbit HD optical imaging satellite and the world’s most sophisticated HD geosynchronous orbit remote sensing satellite.

4. Gaofen-4 is located at the orbit
36,000 kilometers away from the Earth and moves synchronously with the
planet. 

5. It can “see” an oil tanker
on the sea with a huge CMOS camera, with the best imaging level vis-à-vis other
high-orbit sensing satellites, said Li Guo, chief designer of the satellite.

6. The Gaofen project aims to launch seven
HD observation satellites before 2020.

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