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Centre assistance of Rs.489 cr for improving water supply and sewerage networks in Delhi 

Ministry of Urban Development has approved the Annual Action Plan of Delhi for 2016-17 under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) with a project investment of Rs.266 cr for improving water supply and sewerage networks. 
●    Similar Action Plan for 2015-16 of Delhi with an investment of Rs. 223 crwas approved earlier in January this year. With this, the total investment approved for Delhi under Atal Mission for improving basic urban infrastructure is Rs.489 cr.
●    Under AMRUT Action Plan approved for 2015-16, one water supply project is to be taken up at a cost of Rs.113 cr in South MCD area and a sewerage project with an investment of Rs.104 cr in North MCD area.
●    As per AMRUT Guidelines, a total allocation of central assistance of Rs.804 cr has been made for the mission period based on total urban population in the four municipal areas of NDMC and North, South and East MCDs.
●    Delhi Government is now required AMRUT Action Plan for the remaining three years in one go for advance approval. Ministry of Urban Development has already approved such three year plans for 14 States.

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Sports Minister Vijay Goel Felicitates Members of World Cup Winner Indian Junior Hockey Team 

Minister of State (I/C) for Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Vijay Goel hosted here today Indian Junior Hockey Team which recently lifted the World Cup 2016. The winning team led by Harjeet Singh called on the minister at his residence.
●    During the felicitation speech, the Minister announced that each player of the winning team will be individually honoured and presented with an amount of Rs. 3.70 lakh each. The minister said these players should be looked up to as role models for the youth in India and expressed hope that majority of the players will be part of senior team in future to bring further glory to their sporting career. 
●    He said, the entire nation is very proud of them for what they achieved after a gap of 15 years by winning the World Cup. Recalling the victories at Asian Champions Trophy Tournaments prior to the Junior World Cup, Shri Vijay Goel said, it gives us immense pleasure to see that Indian Men, Women and Junior Hockey Teams have performed very well in international competitions in 2016.
●    In the 2016 Junior Hockey World Cup hosted in Lucknow, India overwhelmed Belgium 2-1 to lift the Junior World Cup and became the second team, after Gagan Ajit Singh’s colts in 2001, to get their hands on the most coveted title. This is also the first time that a host nation has won the Cup.

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Central Government sanctions of Rs 200.00 Crores for the Tirupur Dyeing Industry 

The Government of India has sanctioned  Rs 200.00 Crores  to the Tirupur Dyeing industry  who was on the verge of closure due to severe financial crisis on account of their huge investments in  the first ever Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) projects in the country.
●    The Government of India has taken cognizance of this problem of the dyeing industry in Tirupur and on recommendation of the Ministry of Textiles; Ministry of Finance has sanctioned Rs 200.00 Crores to the State Government of Tamil Nadu for the 18 CETPs as an interest free loan to be converted into grant based on the performance of the CETPs.
●    The move will  help ailing CETPs and 450 dyeing units  to  recover  from the  financial crisis  and  help them to a complete the  project  to achieve 100%  capacity utilization.
●    More than 450 dyeing units in Tirupur Dyeing Industry had collectively set up 18 ZLD enabled Common Effluent plants (CETPs) with a total cost of Rs 1013.00 cr. The project has become a global standard and appreciated by the environmentalist and processing industry world over. However being the first project of its kind the project had several technical challenges and cost overrun which put them into financial crisis due to outstanding Bank loans and incomplete projects.
●    Tirupur is a hub of the textile processing and knitting industry providing employment to over 5 lakh persons and contributes 22% of the total garment export of the country. Closure of processing industry could have hit the entire garmenting sector in the region.

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CPWD to help Bhutan in green and sustainable construction 

Central Public Works Department (CPWD), the construction major under the Ministry of Urban Development will assist Bhutan in green and sustainable construction of infrastructure. 
●    A Memorandum of Understanding in this regard was signed between CPWD and Department of Engineering Services,  Ministry of Works and Human Settlements, Royal Government of Bhutan in Thimpu.
●    Shri Abhay Sinha, Director General of CPWD signed the Memorandum of Understanding.
●    Under the MoU for bilateral technical cooperation in infrastructure engineering, CPWD will assist in promoting sustainability in the built environment, capacity building through training of Bhutanese manpower, benchmarking in building and road sectors besides deputing engineering experts to Bhutan.
●    The signing of MoU took place in the presence of Ms.ZhabtogLyonpoDorjiChoden, Minister of Works and Human Settlements of Bhutan.

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Renowned Actress Carrie Fisher passes away

Carrie Fisher, known for her role as Princess Leia Organa in Star Wars movie, passed away on 27 December 2016 following a cardiac arrest. She was 60. She is survived by her mother, daughter and beloved French bulldog, Gary.
●    Escaping Hollywood in 1973, Fisher enrolled in the Central School of Speech and Drama in London to study acting.
●    In 1975, she made her film debut in the Warren Beatty-lead movie Shampoo.
●    Throughout the 1990s, Fisher focused on her writing career and published Surrender the Pink and Delusions of Grandma. 
●    She also crafted the scripts for numerous Hollywood films like The Wedding Singer, Hook and Sister Act, etc.
●    In 1990, she wrote her semi-autobiographical memoir Postcards From the Edge, which detailed her drug addiction and rehab experiences.
●    In 2005, she was recognized with the Women of Vision Award by the Women in Film & Video-DC.

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Suresh Kalamadi and Abhay Singh Chautala elected life presidents of IOA

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on 27 December 2016 appointed Suresh Kalmadi and Abhay Singh Chautala as its life presidents.
●    The IOA unanimously appointed the Kalmadi and Chautala to the post during its Annual General Meeting in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
●    A life president of IOA is an honorary post with no voting rights or involvement in day-to-day functioning of the body. 
●    In its 89-year old history, IOA has had 12 presidents, including the current incumbent N Ramachandran.
●    The Indian Olympic Association is the body responsible for selecting athletes to represent India at the Olympic Games, Asian Games and other international athletic meets.
●    IOA acts as the Indian Commonwealth Games Association and is also responsible for selecting athletes to represent India at the Commonwealth Games.
●    In 1928, Maharaja Bhupindra Singh took over as the president of IOA.

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Ken-Betwa Inter-linking of Rivers project receives NBWL nod


The National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) has given its clearance for the Ken-Betwa inter-linking of rivers (ILR) project, paving the way to begin work for linking two rivers. 
●    The clearance of NBWL was required since the project requires diversion of forest land from core area of Panna Tiger Reserve. However NBWL has set some conditions. 
●    They are Integration of nearby sanctuaries including Ranipur and Rani Durgavati with the Panna Tiger Reserve to compensate loss of tiger habitat and complete ban of fresh mining lease in the area. 
●    The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) will take care of the landscape plan for the area with the help of Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and state forest departments. 
●    Nearly 8,650 hectares of forest land including part of Panna National Park in Madhya Pradesh will be submerged due to implementation of this project.

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Viral V Acharya appointed as Deputy Governor of RBI

Viral V Acharya was on 28 December 2016 appointed as the Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI). He is a professor of economics at New York University.
●    He will be joining the ranks of Vishwanathan, S S Mundra, R Gandhi as one of four Deputy Governors of RBI. He will be serving under RBI Governor Urjit Patel. 
●    Acharya has significant experience in global finance specifically in theoretical risk assessment of the financial sector. 
●    In 2015, Acharya co-authored a research paper that analysed the precarious condition of public sector banks in India.
●    He has previously served on the International Advisory Board of Securities and Exchange Board of India.
●    His papers have been published in renowned finance journals. 
●    He was the recipient of numerous awards including the Rising Star in Finance Award.
 

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Hyderabad HC bans cock-fight

Sounding a note of caution to politicians not to endorse the `inhuman cock fights' with their open participation in such unlawful events during the Sankranti season, the Hyderabad High Court on Monday banned cock fights and all activities associated with it. 
●    This practice, that is also linked to discrete betting that evaporate the assets of several families overnight, is prevalent in Andhra Pradesh, particularly in the four districts of East Godavari, West Godavari , Krishna and Guntur.
●    The HC directed the district collectors of these four districts to constitute, by January 7, 2017, joint inspection teams for each mandal that should comprise an SI, a tahsildar rank revenue officer, a representative from the animal welfare board or an NGO to identify the fields that are prepared for cock fights. 
●    Upon receiving information from the inspection teams about such sites, the district collectors and SPs shall ensure that they are not used for cock fights and have the authority to even impose Section 144 of the CrPC to prevent large gatherings.

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Agni-5 missile successfully test-fired

India successfully test fired its home-grown long range intercontinental surface-to-surface nuclear capable ballistic missile Agni-5. 
●    The missile was test-fired from the Abdul Kalam Wheeler Island off Odisha coast at 11:05 am on 26 December 2016.
●    As per an official release, this was the fourth developmental and second test-trail of the long-range missile. 
●    Unlike other missiles of Agni series, the Agni-5 is the most advanced missile with new technologies. 
●    The technologies incorporated in this version of Agni includes navigation and guidance, warhead and engine.
●    It is a three-stage propellant missile with nuclear warhead carrying capacity of more than one tonne.
●    It is capable of striking a target more than 5000 kilometres.
●    It is about 17 meters long and 2 meter wide and has a launch weight of around 50 tonnes.
●    Agni-5 has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program.
●    The last test of Agni missile with striking capacity of more than 3500 km range was carried out from the Wheeler Island in January 2015.

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