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Britain's Queen Elizabeth II to step down as patron of 25 charities

United Kingdom’s Queen Elizabeth II will be stepping from her position as the patron of a number of charities at the end of her 90th birthday year.
●    The decision was announced through a statement released by the Buckingham Palace, residence and administrative headquarters of the queen.
●    The queen, who is currently handling more than 600 organisations, will step down as patron of 25 charities.
●    The patronage of these organizations will be passed on to the other members of the Royal family. 
●    Some of the organizations include Holocaust Day Memorial Trust, Blind Veterans UK, National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Royal Navy and Royal Marines Children’s Fund and Wimbledon. 
●    The transition will be smooth, as many of these organizations already have a Royal Family member as a vice-patron or president.  
●    Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburg had also similarly resigned from a number of patronages when he had turned 90 in 2011.
●    According to the palace’s statement, the queen will continue her work as patron to hundreds of charities and institutions but will now just share the workload with her family.


 

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DRDO's Nuclear Capable Cruise Missile Nirbhay Fails Another Test

India's cruise missile Nirbhay has failed in its test flight today. Three out of four of its test flights have failed, sources said. 
●    The test was carried from India's Integrated Missile Test Range on the coast of Odisha.
●    Nirbhay's previous tests have only been partially successful. The subsonic missile was first tested in March 2013, but its flight had to be aborted midway when it veered off course.
●    The missile, designed and developed by the DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation), is expected to strengthen India's air defence capability.
●    A terrain-hugging missile, Nirbhay can fly almost at the level of tree-tops to evade detection by radars. 
●    It was built to identify and strike targets in heavily populated areas with pin-point accuracy and is capable of carrying of carrying a nuclear warhead.
●    With a range of more than 1,000 kilometers, Nirbhay is considered an equal to the Tomahawk missile of the US.

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Eco-Activist Anupam Mishra passes away

Renowned environmentalist Anupam Mishra passed away on 19 December 2016 in Delhi following a prolonged illness. He was 68.
●    Born in Wardha, Maharashtra, Mishra started his career as a writer-activist with the Gandhi Peace Foundation in 1969.
●    His first assignment was being part of a team negotiating the surrender of the dacoits of Chambal. 
●    He wrote books including Aaj Bhi Khare Hain Talaab (Lakes are still Standing, 1993) and Rajasthan Ki Rajat Boondein (Radiant Raindrops of Rajasthan, 1995).
●    His work 'Aaj Bhi Khare Hain Talab' was born out of his involvement with the drought in Rajasthan in 1987 and demonstrated how ponds nourished people living in the hinterland.
●    First published in 1993, 'Aaj Bhi Khare Hain Talab' has seen 40 editions in about 10 languages till date including a Braille edition. 
●    He was the recipient of various awards including Jamnalal Bajaj Award, Amar Shaheed Chandrashekhar Azad National Award and many others.

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Australia, France to build world's largest diesel-electric submarine

Australia and France signed an agreement on Tuesday to build the world's largest diesel-electric submarines in the Australian industrial town of Adelaide.
●    Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian signed the agreement in Adelaide, where they officially opened the Australian headquarters of DCNS, a French state majority-owned company that will design the Shortfin Barracuda subs.
●    Mr Turnbull described the 56 billion Australian dollar ($41 billion) contract to build 12 subs as the largest capital project in Australia's history. 
●    The contract is also DCNS's largest outside France.
●    France offered the Australians a diesel-electric version of the Barracuda-class nuclear submarine under construction for the French navy. 
●    Japan proposed a longer version of its Soryu-class diesel-powered propulsion system with advanced stealth capabilities.

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China, Norway agree to normalise bilateral ties

China and Norway have reached a consensus on normalisation of ties that deteriorated since the Oslo-based Nobel Committee conferred the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo, who was convicted of engaging in activities designed to overthrow the Chinese government.
●    After a meeting between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende in Beijing on Monday, Li said the two countries' foreign ministers had candid and in-depth talks, and reached an agreement on the normalisation of bilateral ties, reports Xinhua.
●    He said that China hopes to work together with Norway to open a new chapter in bilateral ties, and push forward a sustained, healthy and stable relationship.
●    Li said China appreciates the new Norwegian government's adherence to the one-China policy and its wish to improve and develop ties with China.
●    The two economies are highly compatible, Li said, adding China is ready to negotiate with Norway on an FTA, to send out a clear signal of trade and investment liberalisation.

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Shah Rukh Khan chosen for Yash Chopra Memorial Award

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan featured in some of the biggest hits helmed by filmmaker Yash Chopra.
●    Now he has been selected for an award instituted in the memory of late Bollywood legend.
●    The 'Badshah of Bollywood" will receive the fourth National Yash Chopra Memorial Award.
●    The award jury, comprising Chopra's wife Pamela, filmmaker Boney Kapoor, Simi Garewal, Padmini Kohlapuri, Subbarami Reddy, Any and Shashi Ranjan, announced.
●    The award - whose previous recipients were Lata Mangeshkar, Amitabh Bachchanand Rekha - will be presented on February 25.
●    Pamela said the two biggest reasons why the 51-year- old actor was chosen are that he was extremely close to Chopra - he did four films with Shah Rukh, which were all big hits - and also because of the iconic status that SRK enjoys.
 

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Virat Kohli First Indian Captain to lead India in 18 Consecutive Unbeaten Tests

India on 20 December 2016 won the five-match test series against England, 4-0. In the fifth and final test played at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, England wrapped up the second innings at 207 in 88 overs. With this Virat Kohli became the first Indian Captain to lead India in 18 Consecutive Unbeaten Tests
●    Karun Nair’s triple century in first innings of the fifth test-match against England was the key factor in the enormous win of India.
●    India's first innings total was its highest score in Tests and was the most runs made against England by any team.
●    The first match was played at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot. 
●    2nd Match was played from at Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam. India won the match by 246 runs. 
●    3rd Match was played at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.  Indian won by 8 wickets. 
●    4th Match was played at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. India won by an innings and 36 runs. 
●    5th Match was played at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. India won by an innings and 75 runs.

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Justice J S Khehar appointed as 44th Chief Justice of India

Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar on 19 December 2016 was appointed as the 44th Chief Justice of India by the President Pranab Mukherjee.
●    Justice Khehar will be sworn-in as the Chief Justice of India on 4 January 2017. He will retire from his office on 27 August 2017.
●    The incumbent Chief Justice T S Thakur on 6 December 2016 had communicated his recommendation to the Union Government to appoint Justice Khehar. 
●    Justice Thakur will retire on 3 January 2017 after tenure of a year.
●    Justice Khehar will be the first Chief Justice of India from the Sikh community.
●    Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar had led the five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court that struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act for the appointment of judges.
●    He also led the bench that in January 2016 set aside the imposition of President’s rule in Arunachal Pradesh.

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National Commission for Protection of Child Rights gets SKOCH Awards for POCSO e-Box 

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) of Ministry of Women and Child Development has been conferred the Skoch Silver and Skoch Order-of Merit award. The award was received by NCPCR Chairperson Smt. Stuti Kacker from Sh. Ajay Kumar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & IT at an event attended by representatives of Technology Companies, Govt. Departments, Public Sector Undertaking, Research Organisations in New Delhi last week. 
●    The two awards were received by NCPCR for applying technology to develop an electronic drop box, POCSO e-Box for registering complaints on Child Sexual Abuse. Speaking on the occasion, Smt. Kacker said that everybody should stand up against Child Sexual Abuse, a heinous crime that leaves permanent scars on the psyche of the child.
●    The competition saw more than 3000 participants and NCPCR’s project, POCSO e-box was considered among the top 30 entries.
●    POCSO e-box is a unique endeavour by NCPCR for receiving online complaint of Child Sexual Abuse directly from the victim. The system maintains confidentiality of the victim/ complainant. Through a well defined procedure complaints are directly followed up by a team which counsels the victim, providing further guidance for required legal action. 
●    Through a short animation film embedded in the e-box it assures the victim not to feel bad, helpless or confused as it’s not her fault. With the e-box, it is easy to register complaint through a step-by-step guided process.
●    According to a study, conducted by Ministry of Women & Child Development during 2007, about 53% of children surveyed, reported having faced one or the other form of sexual abuse in their lifetime.  It has been found that in most cases, the offender is a family member/near relative or an acquaintance.  The child victim in such cases generally does not report such incidences. 
 

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Digital India Awards 2016 – Healthy Ministry wins gold in the Web Ratna Category 

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare won gold in the Web Ratna category in the recently concluded Digital India awards, 2016, conferred by the Ministry of Electronics & IT to promote more innovative e-governance initiatives by the government entities.  
●    Hon'ble Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology and Law & Justice, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad presented the award. Digital India awards, earlier known as the Web Ratna Awards, were instituted under the Ambit of National Portal of India. 
●    The award acknowledges exemplary initiatives of various government entities in the realm of e-governance. Shri Jitendra Arora, Director, e-Governance, at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare received the award.
●    Web Ratna award felicitates a Ministry or Department of the Government of India which has a comprehensive web presence and display the level of accountability in terms of quantity, quality, spectrum of coverage, and innovation ascertaining user satisfaction. Level of convenience provided to the citizen for availing the services, usability and accessibility are also assessed.
●    The website of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare conforms to the UUU trilogy. It is totally bilingual as per the directions of Parliamentary Committee of official languages and is accessible to all.  Special features have also been incorporated in the website for visually challenged users.
 


 

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