1.  Veteran theatre artist Chatla Sriramulu passes away

i) Chatla Sriramulu, a noted theatre artist and writer, passed away in Secunderabad, Telangana, aged 84. 

ii) He established the popular literary & cultural organisation Rasaranjani, which was dedicated to theater arts.

iii) He wrote as well as acted in over 100 plays during his lifetime. He was twice conferred the Best Actor award by Andhra Nataka Kala Parishad. He also received the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 1982. 

iv) London’s British Drama League awarded him the certificate of Producer & Teacher in 1970. He was the first artiste from Andhra Pradesh to get the Union HRD Ministry’s Emeritus Fellowship.

2. Radha Krishna Mathur appointed as Chief Information Commissioner of India 

i) President Pranab Mukherjee appointed Radha Krishna Mathur as the new Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) of India. He succeeds Vijai Sharma as the 8th CIC. This appointment deviates from the usual practice of choosing the senior most Information Commissioner (IC) as the CIC.

ii) Mathur will hold the office for nearly three years or till he attains 65 years of age. He was former Defence Secretary and has also served as secretary in the Union Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and in Defence Production and Supplies.

iii) The Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, established the offices of Central & State Information Commissioners. 

3. Apple appoints Jeff Williams as COO

i) Apple Inc. has appointed Jeff Williams as its new chief operating officer (COO), a post that was vacant Tim Cook took charge as CEO in 2011.

ii) Until recently, Williams was the senior vice president of operations. He joined the company in 1998 and oversaw its social responsibility initiatives besides managing its supply chain, service and support operations. 

iii) Williams played a vital role in the launch of iPhone & supervised the development of Apple watch. 

4.  Legendary British novelist Peter Dickinson passes away

i) Noted British novelist Peter Dickinson recently passed away in Winchester, Hampshire, aged 88. He wrote around 60 books, many of which have been translated into various foreign languages. 

ii) He was the first author to twice receive the Carnegie Medal, (awarded to the outstanding new children’s book author) for Tulku (1979) & City of Gold (1980). He was also conferred the Crime Writers’ Association Golden Dagger award for two consecutive novels, namely Skin Deep (1968) & Pride of Heroes (1969). 

iii) He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and former chairman of the Society of Authors.

5. DAC approves purchase of Russian S-400 Triumf air defence missile system 

i) The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved the purchase of five units of Russian S-400 Triumf air defence missile system for approximately Rs.40,000 crore. 

ii) After China, India is now the second nation to buy this missile system. 

iii) It can destroy incoming hostile missiles (ballistic and hypersonic), aircrafts and drones within a range of 400 km. It has the capacity to take on 36 targets at a range of over 150 km.

iv) Compared to the previous S-300 version, this system has 2.5 times greater firing rate. 

6. Mumbai’s Marine Drive turns 100

i) Mumbai’s Marine Drive, popularly called the Queen’s Necklace, turned 100 on December 18.  It is a symbol of Mumbai’s transformation into a modern city, the work for which began in the 1860s, when Sir Bartle Frere was the Governor of Bombay. The transformation process gifted Bombay two major architectural styles – the Victorian Gothic & Art Deco. 

ii) As per Conservation architect Abha Narain Lambah’s findings, Mumbai’s Art Deco buildings, which include the long stretch of buildings in the Marine Drive waterside, is the second-largest cluster of Art Deco buildings in the world, after Miami.

iii) As Marine Drive area combines the two great architectural styles, it was nominated for UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 2013.

7. Second World Internet Conference concludes in Wuzhen, China

i) The second World Internet Conference has concluded in Wuzhen, China. 

ii) The objective of the conference was to promote Internet development and share its benefits, foster cultural diversity and ensure peace & security in cyberspace, and improve global Internet governance. 

iii) Over around 2,000 government officials, organisation leaders, entrepreneurs from China & abroad were present in the conference. Both domestic and foreign tech companies signed many agreements. 

8.  Harvard University’s Public Health School to open Mumbai centre

i) The Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health opened its new centre in Mumbai, which is the first in South Asia. 

ii) The school has had active research & education programme in India since 1960s.  

iii) The centre will be established at Piramal Tower Annexe, which was provided by Ajay and Swati Piramal, Chairman & Vice Chairperson of Piramal Industries respectively. They are also Harvard alumni. 

9.  UNSC adopts resolution of Syria peace plan

i) All 15 members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously agreed to draft a resolution for peace talks in and a ceasefire to end the five-year long civil war in Syria. 

ii) The resolution will internationalise efforts to seek a political solution in Syria. It endorses the 17-member International Syria Support Group as the central institution to deal with Syria’s problem. 

iii) It agrees to bring ceasefire between the regime & opposition in six months and provides for drafting of a new constitution for the country. It also gives the UN a leading role in working with the regime. 

10. PFRDA switches to PAN for online enrollment under NPS

i) Pension fund regulatory body ‘Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority’ (PFRDA) has started using PAN cards instead of Aadhaar for validation of new customers enrolling under National Pension Scheme (NPS). 

ii) PFRDA Chairman Hemant G Contractor said that the change has occurred after the Supreme Court judgement regarding usage of Aadhar. SC lifted restrictions on use of Aadhar card for social welfare schemes and made its usage voluntary. 

iii)The subscriber having an account with internet banking facility with any of the six participating banks can open a NPS account. 

11. PM inaugurates All India Director General/Inspector General of Police conference

i) Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated 50th edition of All India Director General/Inspector General conference at Dhordo village , Gujarat.

ii) This conference aimed at discussing issues like attempts by ISIS to spread base in India, India’ internal security. This conference was organised by Central Intelligence Bureau (IB).

iii) This conference was attended by all the DGPs & IGs of states & Union territories , heads of National Investigation Agency, IB , Narcotics dept. & various police training academies in India.

12. West Bengal government to form 5 new districts 

i) West Bengal government has approved a proposal for formation of five new districts in the state, namely Kalimpong, Sundarbans, Basirhat, Burdwan & Jhargram.

ii) This decision was taken by state cabinet meeting chaired by CM Mamata Banerjee. 

iii) With this, the total number of districts in the state goes up to 25. 

13. India’s biggest wildlife rescue centre commissioned in Nagpur

i) India’s biggest wildlife rescue centre was commissioned in Nagpur and inaugurated by Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis. The centre spreads across 30 hectares in Gorewada, Nagpur. 

ii) It will house sick, injured and rescued animals besides having a burial ground. The Gir Park was the inspiration for this centre.

iii) It will be run by Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra (FCDA) in collaboration with MAFSU.

14. ZSI scientists discover new species of eel along West Bengal coast

i) The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has discovered a new species of eel along the coast of Digha in West Bengal.

ii) To be called the Bengal moray eel (scientific name-Gymnothorax mishrai), it is 32.4 cm long and brown in color without any patterns on its body.

iii) This species has 134 vertebral bones. It was collected from a depth of about 22 metres from the sea. 

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