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Actor Om Puri Passes Away after Heart Attack

Om Puri, the veteran actor of Bollywood, died on 5 January 2017 in Mumbai. He passed away after a massive heart attack. He was 66.
тЧП    Born on 18 October 1950, Puri appeared in commercial Indian, British, American, and Pakistani films.
тЧП    He also acted in art films and independent films.
тЧП    He studied at the Film and Television Institute of India as well as the National School of Drama.
тЧП    He made his film debut with the Marathi film Ghashiram Kotwal (1976).
тЧП    Hailing from Ambala, Haryana, Om Puri, was a recipient of Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India as well as Order of the British Empire (OBE).
тЧП    In 2009, he was conferred with the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award.
тЧП    In 2015, he was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award International Film Festival of Prayag.
 

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Earth-like snow, ice features found on Pluto

Scientists have found evidence of Earth-like snow and ice features on Pluto, using a model similar to what meteorologists use to forecast weather on our planet and a computer simulation of the physics of evaporating ices.
тЧП    The groundbreaking research, done in collaboration with researchers at NASA and Johns Hopkins University, indicates that these icy features may exist on other planets where environmental conditions are similar.
тЧП    The identification of the ridges of Tartarus Dorsa as Penitentes suggests that the presence of an atmosphere is necessary for the formation of penitentes, which would explain why they have not previously been seen on other airless icy satellites or dwarf planets.
тЧП    Pluto’s ridges are much larger — 500 metres tall and separated by three to five kilometres — as compared to their meter-sized earthly counterparts.

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16th meet of FSDC held

The 16th meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) was held in New Delhi. 
тЧП    It was chaired by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.  It was attended by heads of all financial sector regulators as its members. 
тЧП    It reviewed the major issues and challenges facing the economy. 
тЧП    Besides, a brief report on the activities undertaken by the FSDC sub-committee chaired by RBI Governor Urjit Patel was placed before the FSDC meeting. 
тЧП    The Central Government had established Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) in December 2010 with the Finance Minister as it Chairman. 
тЧП    The idea to create it was first mooted by the Raghuram Rajan Committee on Financial Sector Reforms in 2008.


 

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Japan to assist in making Chennai, Ahmedabad and Varanasi Smart Cities

Japan has decided to be associated with the development of Chennai, Ahmedabad and Varanasi as smart cities. 
тЧП    This was today conveyed by Japan’s Ambassador to India Mr.Kenji Hiramatsu during his meeting with Minister of Urban Development Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu.
тЧП    Mr.Hiramatsu further said that Japan is quite interested in urban development initiatives of the Government of India and decided to be a partner.
тЧП    High Commissioner of United Kingdom Mr.Dominic Asquith also met Shri Venkaiah Naidu and discussed converting into action the MoU signed between the two countries during the recent visit of British Prime Minister to India Ms.Teresa May, on cooperation in urban development sector. 
тЧП    So far, leading countries have come forward to be associated with development of 15 smart cities. These include: United States Trade Development Agency (USTDA) –Visakhapatnam, Ajmer and Allahabad, UK-Pune, Amaravati(Andhra Pradesh) and Indore, France-Chandigarh, Puducherry and Nagpur and Germany –Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore and  Kochi.

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National Workshop on Skill Development in Agriculture inaugurated

Due to the sophisticated development in agriculture sector, employment opportunities have been generated for the skilled youth in the fields of agri-warehousing in agriculture, cold chains, supply chains, dairy, poultry, meat, fisheries, horticulture, agricultural mechanization as well as micro-irrigation. 
тЧП    Self-employment opportunities also have been enhanced in these fields which require skilled youth. 
тЧП    In this workshop, the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, the representatives of agriculture science centers, ICAR, Ministry of Agriculture as well as trained youth entrepreneurs are participating.
тЧП    Shri Radha Mohan Singh said that Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare is working with fast pace to give reality to the motto raised by Hon’ble Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi, as Kaushal Bharat - Kushal Bharat. 
тЧП    The government realizes that the youth of the country are required to be linked with agriculture in the form of enterprise. 

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Mesentery, a new Human organ discovered

Researchers have recently discovered a new organ that was hidden in plain sight inside our digestive system this whole time.
тЧП    The existence of the human body’s 79th organ, known as the ‘mesentery’, has been known for hundreds of years. However, until recently, it was thought to be a fragmented structure comprising separate parts.
тЧП    It was Dr. J Calvin Coffey, Professor of Survey at the University of Limerick in Ireland, who discovered that it was one continuous organ.
тЧП    Although the structure of the organ is known, its functions are not very well understood.
тЧП    Studying the organ more closely could be the key to better treatment of various abdominal and digestive diseases. 
тЧП    The evidence of the organ’s new found status has been now published in the Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology journal. 
тЧП    The organ has been listed in the journal as one that had not been acknowledged up until now.
тЧП    The anatomic description of the organ that had been laid down in research books in the past 100 years has been completely incorrect. 

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Record 5 Indian Americans take oath as US Congress members

A record five Indian-Americans took oath as members of the US Congress.
тЧП    52-year-old Kamala Harris was sworn in on Tuesday as the Senator from California by outgoing US Vice President Joe Biden. 
тЧП    Harris, decided against seeking re-election. 
тЧП    Four Indian Americans were sworn in as its members, including Congressman Ami Bera.
тЧП    In the process he equalled the record of Dalip Singh Saundh, who exactly 60-years ago became the first Indian American to be elected as a member of the US Congress. 
тЧП    Joining Bera were young and dynamic Ro Khanna representing the Silicon Valley. 
тЧП    Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, who won the election from Illinois took the oath on Gita.
тЧП    Ms Gabbard, the first ever Hindu to be elected to the US Congress took the oath for third consecutive term. 
тЧП    Pramila Jayapal is also the first Indian American woman in the US House of Representatives. Her 78-year-old mother, who especially came in from India, watched the proceedings from the gallery.
 

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Ustad Fateh Ali Khan passes away

Pride of Pakistan and the foremost Khayal vocalist Ustad Bade Fateh Ali Khan of Patiala Gharana passed away on Wednesday evening in Islamabad. He was 81 years old.
тЧП    There is a galaxy of highly acclaimed singers in Patiala Gharana and the deceased was one of the most shining ones. 
тЧП    He was younger of the legendary singing duo Amanat Ali and Fateh Ali, who enjoyed a lot of popularity in Pakistan and India and had fan following and disciples in many other countries. 
тЧП    Ustad Fateh Ali was father of Rustam Fateh Ali and Sultan Ali Khan and uncle of Asad Amanat and Shafqat Amanat. 
тЧП    He was elder brother of Ustad Hamid Ali Khan.
тЧП    Born in 1935 in Patiala, Ustad Fateh Ali Khan, at the age of 12, and his elder brother Amanat Ali Khan, at the age of 14, became the Maharaja’s chosen singers at his ‘darbar’ or court.
 

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M S Dhoni resigns from Limited Overs Captaincy ┬а

On 4 January 2017 Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepped down as the Captain of the Indian One Day International (ODI) and T20I cricket teams.
тЧП    He made his ODI debut in December 2004 against Bangladesh.
тЧП    He played his first Test in 2005 against Sri Lanka.
тЧП    In 2007, he took over the ODI captaincy from Rahul Dravid. 
тЧП    Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, the CB Series of 2007–2008, the 2010 Asia Cup, the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.
тЧП    In June 2013, he became the first captain to win all three ICC limited-overs trophies.
тЧП    He took up the Test captaincy in 2008. 
тЧП    Under his captaincy, Indian team was ranked number one for the first time in the ICC Test rankings in 2009.
тЧП    In 2011, Time magazine included him in its annual Time 100 list as one of the Most Influential People in the World.
тЧП    In June 2015, he was ranked 23rd by Forbes in the list of highest paid athletes in the world.

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World Bank envoy to meet India, Pakistan officials over Indus dispute

A senior World Bank official met a team of Indian officials to break a deadlock between India and Pakistan over two hydropower projects coming up in the border state of Jammu and Kashmir.
тЧП    Ian H Solomon, senior adviser to the World Bank president, would meet officials of ministries of external affairs and water resources to hear the Indian side. 
тЧП    India side will be led by Gopal Baglay, a joint secretary in MEA.
тЧП    After Delhi, Solomon will head to Pakistan.
тЧП    Pakistan has objected to the projects, saying they flout the Indus treaty under which waters of Indus, Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Chenab and Jhelum rivers are to be shared between the two countries.
тЧП    Waters of eastern rivers – Beas, Ravi and Sutlej—are allocated to India, bulk of the water from the three western rivers is for Pakistan.
тЧП    The treaty, survived three wars and tense ties between the neighbours, came under strain after last year’s attack on an army camp in Kashmir’s Uri. 
тЧП    Nineteen soldiers were killed in the audacious strike carried out by suspected Pakistani militants.
 

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