1. J&K
CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed passes away

1. Jammu
   & Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad
   Sayeed passed away at the AIIMS hospital in New Delhi due to multi organ
   failure. He was 79.
2. Sayeed was the first Muslim Minister for Home Affairs in India’s
   Union Cabinet in 1989.
3. He was a member of the National Congress Party, which he quit to
   join V. P. Singh’s Jan Morcha and later rejoined NCP under Prime Minister
   PV Narasimha Rao.
4. He finally quit the Congress in 1999 along with daughter Mehbooba
   Mufti to form his own party Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party
   (JKPDP).
5. Sayeed was twice elected as the Chief Minister of the state. Owing to his death, Mehbooba Mufti is
   now expected to take over the post.

    2.
   French conductor & composer Pierre Boulez dies

1. Pierre Boulez, former principal conductor of the New York
   Philharmonic, passed away in, Germany, aged 90.
2. He significantly contributed to creating a radical new path for
   classical music in the 20th century and became one of its dominant figures
   in the decades after World War II.
3. His recordings have won more than 25 Grammy awards. He worked with
   Chicago Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris and the
   London Symphony Orchestra.
4. Boulez led the New York Philharmonic and the BBC Symphony Orchestra
   during the 1970s.
5. During his long and successful career he was involved in
   conducting, composing and teaching that made him one of the leading
   figures in modern classical music.

   3.
  Apurvi Chandela breaks record; wins gold at Swedish
Cup Grand Prix

1. Indian shooter Apurvi Chandela broke the world record to win a gold
   medal in the women’s 10-metre air rifle event at the Swedish Cup Grand
   Prix.
2. Chandela shot 211.2 in the event to beat Chinese Olympic gold
   medallist Yi Siling, who held the record with 211.
3. Swedish shooters Astrid Steffensen and Stine Nielsen won the silver
   and bronze respectively.
4. Chandela also won a gold medal in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in
   Glasgow, four medals at the Intershoot Championships at the Hague the same
   year.
5. She bagged the gold medal in the 10-metre air rifle event at the
   National Shooting Championships in New Delhi in 2012.

   4.
   Hashim Amla resigns as South Africa Test captain

1. South Africa Test captain Hashim Amla has resigned as the Test
   captain after the team drew the second Test against England.
2. ODI captain AB de Villiers will take over as captain to complete
   the four-match Test series against England.
3. Amla had replaced Graeme Smith’s in mid-2014 and this was his sixth
   series as the skipper.
4. He has been criticised for his leadership since the start of the
   series against England. However, he resumed good form in the second match
   scoring 201 runs.

   5.
   Centre approves reservation for women in paramilitary
forces

1. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has approved 33% reservation of
   Constable-level posts for women in order to enhance their representation.
2. The 33% reservation of Constable-level posts in CRPF & CISF and
   14-15% posts at Constable-level in Border Security Force, Sashastra Seema Bal and Indo Tibetan
   Border Police, will be effected immediately.
3. This decision was taken after the Committee on Empowerment of Women
   had recommended the need to give women due representation in paramilitary
   forces.

   6.
   Yahoo to reduce workforce by 10% or more

1. Yahoo is planning to cut down on its workforce by 10% or more by
   January-end.
2. The downsizing will majorly affect Yahoo’s media business, European
   operations, and platforms-technology group.
3. Around 1000 employees of the company will be affected by this move,
   which was effected after activist investor Starboard Value LP letter’s to
   Yahoo.
4. The letter was directed to CEO Marissa Mayer and her leadership
   team, raising the prospect that a proxy battle is imminent.
5. There has been substantial pressure on the
   company to find a new path forward after a three-year turnaround failed to
   revitalise the business.

   7.
  Shatrughan Sinha publishes his biography Anything but Khamosh

1. Actor and MP Shatrughan Sinha has published his biography titled Anything
   but Khamosh.
2. Sinha’s autobiography was authored by Bharti S Pradhan on the basis
   of personal interviews spread over seven years beginning November 2008.

    8.
  E-commerce giant Flipkart to raise $1.4 billion

1. Keeping up its fundraising spree and efforts to cement its leadership
   in the online retail market, e-commerce giant Flipkart has started talks
   with investors to raise $1.4 billion  (approximately 9,200 crores).
2. US-based Sands Capital Management is in loop
   for the first round funding of $700 million. Sands Capital Ventures is
   known for financially backing grocery retailer Big-Basket and hyper-local
   logistics firm Opinio.
3. Flipkart is hoping to take up the sale to $12 billion this year,
   which is a three-fold increase vis-a-vis last year.
4. In the past two years, Flipkart has raised $2.6 billion in order to
   tackle challenges from cash-rich competitors.

     9.
  RIL rejects Shah Panel’s decisions, argues for arbitration

1. Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has
   challenged the jurisdiction of a panel examining Oil and Natural Gas
   Corporation’s (ONGC) allegations that it pumped out gas from the state-run
   firm’s field.
2. It has also challenged the oil ministry’s decision to intervene in
   the dispute by setting up a committee, headed by Justice AP Shah.
3. RIL said in a letter, “RIL does not
   accept in this particular matter that the Government of India can appoint
   a ‘committee’ or can deal with any issues on the dispute”.

    10.
 Achyuta
Samanta elected General President of 105th Indian Science Congress

1. Dr Achyuta Samanta has been elected as the General President of the
   105th Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) that is scheduled for
   2017-18.
2. Dr Samanta is has been a serving member of the Executive Council of
   Indian Science Congress Association since 2011.
3. This makes Samanta the second Odia after Prof Prana Krushna Parija
   to be elected as President of the Indian Science Congress.
4. Dr Samanta is a well-known educationist and
   has set up renowned institutions like KIIT (Kalinga Institute of
   Information Technology) University that has around 25,000 students
   enrolled in about 25 programs and KISS (Kalinga Institute of Social
   Science) where around  25,000 indigenous students are being given
   free residential education from KG to PG.

 11.
Priyanka Chopra wins People’s Choice Award for favourite actress

1. Priyanka Chopra has won the People’s Choice Award for favourite
   actress for her role in the ABC television series ‘Quantico’, her debut in
   American television.
2. This makes Priyanka the first Indian actor to win an award at the
   People’s Choice Awards.

 12.
   Apple CEO Tim Cook earns $10.3 million salary in 2015

1. Apple CEO Tim Cook earned $10.3 million in 2015, a hike of 11.5%
   since 2014. The year was favorable for the company, with its iPhone
   6S and 6S Plus registering booming China sales.
2. Cook’s base pay rose by around 14.4% to $2 million last year, while
   non-equity incentive compensation was increased by about 19% to $8
   million.
3. Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri’s annual
   compensation rose about 81% to $25.3 million in 2015.
4. Cook holds about 3.1 million Apple shares that have not vested,
   potentially enabling him to earn over $310 million.
5. The company faced a few disappointments at the end of 2015, with
   shares falling about 4.6% for the year and shares of the world’s most
   valuable company dropping below $100 for the first time in nearly five
   months.

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