Current Affairs, December 2016

31st December, Current Affairs:

• 33 MLAs from the People's Party of Arunachal (PPA) switched sides to join BJP under the led by current chief minister Pema Khandu.
• The sports ministry has suspended the deemed recognition granted by it to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) for its decision to appoint Suresh Kalmadi and Abhay Chautala as life presidents.
• New Army Chief General Bipin Rawat took over charge today from outgoing Army Chief General Dalbir Singh.
• Air Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa took over charge as the new Air Force chief from outgoing Arup Raha.

30th December, Current Affairs:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched mobile app BHIM to promote and make digital transactions easier.
• People's Party of Arunachal leader Takam Pario has been elected as the new Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh.
• China inaugurates World's highest bridge "Beipangjiang Bridge" which is at a height of 1,850 feet above a gorge.

29th December, Current Affairs:

• Ex-IAS officer Anil Baijal will be appointed as 21st Lieutenant Governor of Delhi.
• Meghalaya is selected to host the 2022 National Games.

27th December, Current Affairs:

• Gujarat Ranji Trophy batsman Samit Gohel created a world record of becomes highest unbeaten scorer as an opener in a First-Class match. He scores 359 not out against Odisha in Ranji Trophy quarterfinal match at the Sawai Man Singh stadium, Jaipur.

26th December, Current Affairs:

• India's longest range nuclear capable missile Agni-5 successfully test fired from the Kalam Island off Odisha coast. The surface-to-surface ballistic missile has a range of over 5000 Km.
• World famous singer and Pop superstar George Michael died at the age of 53.

25th December, Current Affairs:

• Christmas is being celebrated worldwide today.

24th December, Current Affairs:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation for 192-metre-tall statue of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the Arabian Sea.
• India beat Sri Lanka by 34 runs to win the Under-19 Asia Cup title in Colombo.

22nd December, Current Affairs:

• Sahitya Akademi award for 2016 has been announced today for 24 languages.
• Najeeb Jung resigned as the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi.
• Mahesh Bhupathi appointed as India's Davis Cup Captain who will succeed present Captain Anand Amritraj.
• Indian all rounder Ravichandran Ashwin named as the Test Cricketer of the year 2016 by ICC for his outstanding performance during the year. He is also named as the Cricketer of the year.

21st December, Current Affairs:

• India overtakes Britain as the World's sixth largest economy by GDP after the United States, China, Japan, Germany, and France.
• Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja top the bowling in ICC Test rankings in the first and second position respectively, which is an Indian achievement for first time since 1974.

20th December, Current Affairs:

• The Russian ambassador to Ankara was shot dead in an attack at an art gallery in the Turkish capital by a gunman.
• Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar appointed as the next Chief Justice of India.
• India wins five match Test Series against England by 4-0.

19th December, Current Affairs:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates first ever Indian Institute of Skills at Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
• Karun Nair becomes the second Indian batsman to score a triple century in Test matches after Virender Sehwag. He scores 303 against England on the first innings in the fifth test.
• Indian cricket team scores it’s highest ever innings total of 759 for 7 wickets in test match history.
• Stephanie Del Valle of Puerto Rico crowned as the new Miss World 2016.

18th December, Current Affairs:

• India defeated Belgium 2-1 in the final of Junior Hockey World Cup 2016 to win the title for second time after 15 years in Lucknow.
• Atletico de Kolkata defeated Kerala Blasters by 4-3 in the penalty shoot out in the final to win the 3rd Indian Super League in Kochi.
• Real Madrid wins the Club World Cup after defeating Japan's Kashima Antlers by 4-2 in the final.

17th December, Current Affairs:

• The Union Government appointed vice chief of army staff Lt Gen Bipin Rawat as the new Army chief, while vice chief of air staff Air Marshal BS Dhanoa has been appointed as the new chief of the Indian Air Force.
• Jharkhand cadre IPS officer Rajiv Jain has been appointed as the new chief of Intelligence Bureau (IB).
• Anil Dhasmana appointed as the head of external intelligence agency RAW.
• Vijender Singh defeated Francis Cheka via knocked out in the third round to successfully defend his WBO Asia Pacific super middleweight title in Delhi.

14th December, Current Affairs:

• External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has been included in Foreign Policy magazine's 2016 list of 15 Global Thinkers.
• Union Government announces lucky draw schemes for two programs for digital transactions. One is Lucky Grahak Yojna for consumers and the other Digi Dhan Vyapari Yojna is meant for businessmen who opt for cashless transactions.

13th December, Current Affairs:

• Portugal and Real Madrid player Cristiano Ronaldo wins 2016 Ballon D'Or Cup.
• Pankaj Advani of India wins the World Billiards title in Bengaluru.

12th December, Current Affairs:

• Two people have died and around 8000 people evacuated to relief camp after Cyclone Vardah hit the Tamil Nadu coast.
• Virat Kohli becomes the first Indian Captain to score three double centuries in Test matches.

10th December, Current Affairs:

• Human Rights Day being celebrated today.

9th December, Current Affairs:

• Former Air Force Chief SP Tyagi arrested over alleged irregularities in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal.

8th December, Current Affairs:

• Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announce today tax break on credit and debit card transactions with a series of discounts for people who make cashless payment. This include :
    • A 0.75% discount for those who buy petrol and diesel using cards or other digital methods.
    • Railway passengers who make digital payments will also get an accident insurance cover of Rs. 10 lakh.
    • 10 per cent and 8 per cent discount will be provided for general and life insurance paying premium online via PSUs websites.
• People will not be charged with any service tax when they use credit or debit card for purchase upto Rs. 2,000.

7th December, Current Affairs:

• Time magazine named President-elect Donald Trump its Person of the Year.
• India successfully launches its own earth observation satellite Resourcesat-2A into the orbit from Sri Harikota. The satellite will serve nation for next five years.
• Senior journalist and actor Cho Ramaswamy died at the age of 82 in Apollo Hospital in Chennai.

6th December, Current Affairs:

• Finance Minister O Panneerselvam takes sworn as the new Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
• Justice Jagdish Singh Kheharv recommended as the 44th Chief Justice of India.
• India will host its first ever ITTF World Tour event in New Delhi from February 16-19, 2017.

5th December, Current Affairs:

• Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Ms J Jayalalithaa died in Apollo Hospital after cardiac arrest in Chennai at the age of 68.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has won the online reader's poll for TIME Person of the Year 2016.
• Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announced his resignation after constitutional referendum defeat.
• New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key announced his resignation from the post.

4th December, Current Affairs:

• 45th Navy Day was observed in India.
• The Heart of Asia Summit starts today at Amritsar, Punjab.
• India defeat Pakistan by 17 runs in the final to win the Women's Twenty20 Asia Cup in Bangkok.

3rd December, Current Affairs:

• Usain Bolt won the sixth IAAF male Athlete of the Year award while Ethiopian Almaz Ayana won the female Athlete of the Year award.

2nd December, Current Affairs:

• Gujarat cadre officer Rakesh Asthana takes the additional charge of CBI after Anil Sinha retired today.
• In a major international recognition for India, UNESCO inscribes Yoga in its list of Intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Yoga now joins a list of 12 other heritages from India.

1st December, Current Affairs:

• World AIDS Day observed today.
• As per announcement from Central Government, married women can have up to 500 gm gold without fear of it being seized, while the limit for unmarried lady is 250 gm and 100 gm for male member.
• Asia’s first and longest cycle highway inaugurated in Uttar Pradesh. It is a 207 kms cycle highway connects the Taj City Agra and the Lion Safari at Etawah.