Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar on 4 January 2017 was sworn in as the 44th Chief Justice of India (CJI). Justice Khehar succeeds T S Thakur who retired on 3 January 2017 after tenure of a year.
Businessman Jovenel Moise was declared the official winner of Haitian Presidential Elections on 3 January 2017.
Surekha Marandi was on 3 January 2017 appointed as Executive Director (ED) of the Reserve Bank of India with effect from 2 January 2016.
President Pranab Mukherjee on 2 January 2017 appointed Professor David R Syiemlieh as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
Portugal’s former Prime Minister Antonio Guterres on 1 January 2017 took over as the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations.Guterres took over for a five-year term. He succeeds Ban Ki-moon.
Lieutenant General Bipin Rawat on 31 December 2016 took charge as the new Chief of the Army Staff. Lieutenant General Rawat took over the position from General Dalbir Singh Suhag.
Anil Baijal took oath as new Lieutenant Governor of Delhi on 31 December 2016. Baijal has succeeded Najeeb Jung, who earlier on 22 December resigned.
Viral V Acharya was on 28 December 2016 appointed as the Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on 27 December 2016 appointed Suresh Kalmadi and Abhay Singh Chautala as its life presidents.
The Union Government in the second week of December 2016 appointed V K Sharma as the Chairman of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) for a period of five years.
Air Marshal BS Dhanoa, the next Chief of Air Staff. Air Marshal Dhanoa, will replace Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha.
United Nations (UN) Chief Antonio Guterres on 15 December 2016 appointed Nigeria's Environment Minister Amina Mohammed as his Deputy Secretary-General.
The US President-elect Donald Trump on 14 December 2016 appointed PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi to his Strategic and Policy Forum.
Indian Actress Priyanka Chopra has been appointed as United Nations Children’s Fund’s (UNICEF) newest Global Goodwill Ambassador.
B.S. Bhullar on 5 December 2016 was appointed the Chief of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Rakesh Asthana was on 3 December 2016 appointed as the Interim Director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
British-Indian professor, Shankar Balasubramanian has been awarded knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II for his immense contribution in the field of science and medicine.
Renowned Rajasthani litterateur Satya Narayan was on 26 December 2016 chosen for the 26th Bihari Puraskar 2016 by K K Birla Foundation.
Union Government on 25 December 2016 announced Lucky Grahak Yojana awards for consumers and Digi-Dhan Vyapar Yojana awards for merchants. The awards were announced with an aim to promote digital transaction among Indians.
The Jnanpith Selection Board on 23 December 2016 conferred the 52nd Jnanpith Award on eminent modern Bengali poet Shankha Ghosh.
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) recently declared that actor Sunny Leone is PETA’s Person of the Year.
Puerto Rico’s Stephanie Del Valle was crowned Miss World 2016 at the 66th edition of the event held at MGM National Harbor, Maryland in the United States of America on 18 December 2016.
The Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) on 15 December 2016 presented 'Global Agriculture Leadership Award 2016' to Ratan Tata in Mumbai.
US Secretary of State John Kerry was on 11 December 2016 honoured as the Officer of the Legion of Honour, the highest French civilian distinction for his contribution in peace effort.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 3 January 2017 inaugurated the 104th Indian Science Congress (ISC) at Tarakarama Stadium of Sri Venkateswara University in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.
The 6th Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process (HoA-IP) concluded on 4 December 2016 after adopting the Amritsar Declaration. The declaration recognised terrorism as the biggest threat to peace and demands an immediate end to all forms of terrorism.
India in the third week of December 2016 was ranked 4th in the Global Wind Power Installed Capacity Index. The cumulative installed wind power generation capacity of India is 25088 MW.The Index was topped by China, followed by USA and Germany.
The Forbes’ magazine's annual list of World’s Most Powerful People was released on 14 December 2016. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was ranked among the top 10 most powerful people in the world. He was ranked at 9th place on the list of 74 people.The list was topped by Russian President Vladimir Putin for the fourth straight year. Putin is followed by President-elect of the US Donald Trump (2nd), German Chancellor Angela Merkel (3rd) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (4th).
NITI Aayog on 31 October 2016 launched the first ever Agricultural Marketing & Farm Friendly Reforms Index. The index was topped by Maharashtra. Gujarat ranks second.
The one-man judicial committee on One Rank One Pension (OROP) submitted its report to the Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, on 26 October 2016. The committee was appointed under the Chairmanship of Justice L Narasimha Reddy
India on 2 January 2017 successfully test-fired Long Range Surface to Surface Ballistic Missile Agni-IV from the Abdul Kalam Wheeler Island off Odisha coast.It can carry about one tonne of nuclear warhead over a distance of 4000 kilometres.
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. It is capable of striking a target more than 5000 kilometres.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch 83 satellites into space in one go, aboard a single rocket in January 2017.Among the 83 satellites, 3 belong to India while the other 80, weighing 500 kg, belong to five foreign nations including Israel, Netherlands, Kazakhstan, Switzerland and the United States of America. The three Indian satellites that are going to be launched include: 1. Cartosat – 2 series, weighing 730 kg as primary payload 2. INS-IA 3. INS-1B.
India is celebrating the 350th Prakash Parv or birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. In 2017, Patna, the birthplace of the 10th Sikh Guru, is hosting the anniversary celebrations.The main function of the celebrations was held on 5 January 2017 at the Gandhi Maidan in Patna.
The United Nations has designated the year 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.
Good Governance Day is being observed across India on 25 December 2016. The day is observed to mark the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 30 December 2016 launched an Aadhaar-based mobile app, Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM). The app is named after the main architect of Constitution of India, Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar.The app BHIM will facilitate digital cash transactions with a thumbprint after the bank account is linked with Aadhaar gateway.
Popular bollywood actor Salman Khan topped the 2016 Forbes India Celebrity 100 List.
Union Information and Technology Minister Ravishankar Prasad in December 2016 launched Digishala TV Channel. Digishala TV is a free-to-air channel which will educate people about digital payment and is available on DD free DTH service.
President Pranab Mukherjee on 11 December 2016 flagged off a ‘100 Million for 100 Million’ Campaign organised by the Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation. The Campaign aims at mobilising 100 million youth and children for the upliftment of 100 million underprivileged children across the world.
Om Puri, the veteran actor of Bollywood, died on 5 January 2017 in Mumbai.
Carrie Fisher, known for her role as Princess Leia Organa in Star Wars movie, passed away on 27 December 2016 following a cardiac arrest.
Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, former Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, passed away on 27 December 2016 in Colombo.
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J Jayalalithaa who suffered a cardiac arrest on Sunday passed away on 5 December 2016.
Sushma Swaraj, the Indian Minister of External Affairs was named a ‘2016 Global Thinker’ by Foreign Policy magazine for her 'novel Twitter diplomacy'.
Two-time academy award winner AR Rahman is in the Oscar race again for his work in the American biographical film ‘Pele: Birth of a Legend’.The film directed and written by Jeff and Michael Zimbalist is based on the early life of the legendary Brazilian footballer Pele.
US President-elect Donald Trump was named as Person of the Year 2016 on 7 December 2016 by Time magazine.
Dr BR Ambedkar’s birthday, 14 April, will be observed as “Water Day” across India.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the clear winner of online reader’s poll for the TIME ‘Person of the Year 2016’.
Vice President Hamid Ansari on 4 January 2017 released a book titled The People's President: Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.It was written by S M Khan.
India and Kazakhstan on 6 January 2017 signed a Protocol to amend the existing Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC).
The 16th meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) was held on 5 January 2017 in New Delhi. The meeting was chaired by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
Virat Kohli was officially appointed as the captain for all three formats of Cricket on 6 January 2017.Earlier on 4 January 2017, Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced his retirement from captaincy from ODI and T20 internationals.
The Union Government on 5 January 2017 approved a grant of about Rs 1782 crore to drought-hit Karnataka under the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF).
Japan has decided to associate itself with the development of Chennai, Varanasi and Ahmedabad as smart cities.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on 4 January 2017 announced the dates of assemble polls of five states including Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttrakhand, Manipur and Goa.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced pan-India expansion of Maternity Benefit Programme (MBP) to benefit pregnant and lactating mothers across the country. The announcement was made by the Modi in his address to the nation on 31 December 2016.The expanded programme will come into force on 1 January 2017.The cash incentive of Rs 6000 is payable in three instalments for the first two live births.
The Union Budget session 2017-18 will commence from 31 January 2017. General budget will be presented on 1 February 2016.
The Union Finance Ministry on 8 January 2017 amended the Income-tax Rules, 1962 to allow banks to obtain and link PAN or Form No 60 (where PAN is not available) in all existing bank accounts (other than BSBDA) by 28 February 2017.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8 January 2016 announced that the government is planning to launch Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana to train Indian youth for overseas employment.The announcement was made at the inauguration of the 14th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Convention in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
India and Portugal on 7 January 2017 signed seven agreements to boost the bilateral relations between the two nations. The signed agreements include support in defence cooperation and renewable energy.The MoUs were signed after bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Portuguese counterpart Antonio Costa in New Delhi. PM Antonio Costa was on a seven-day visit to India.
The Supreme Court of India on 2 January 2017 ruled that no politician can seek the vote in the name of caste, creed, religion community or language.
The Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on 25 December 2016 launched the Twitter Seva for providing passport and consular services.Twitter Seva seeks to resolve queries related to visa and passport services in a speedy manner.
The Union Government on 24 December 2016 launched ‘Smart Consumer’ mobile App to provide speedy redressal of consumer grievances.Besides, the government also launched an Online Consumer Mediation Centre (OCMC) and a helpline number 14404 for redressal of consumer related grievances. These initiatives will benefit the consumers in the digital world.
The Union Government on 25 December 2016 launched the Aadhaar Payment App with an aim to simplify the digital transactions. This app will do away with the need of carrying plastic cards and the point of sale machines.
The Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik on 22 December 2016 formally inaugurated the North Eastern Institute of Ayurveda and Homoeopathy (NEIAH) in Shillong, Meghalaya.
Union Minister of Power Piyush Goyal on 20 December 2016 launched the GARV-II mobile app with an aim to provide village-wise and habitation-wise base line data on household electrification for all the states.
The Union government on 17 December 2016 formed a high-level inter-ministerial task force headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Principal Secretary Nripendra Mishra to look into all the strategic aspects of Indus Water Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 19 December 2016 unveiled first ever Indian Institute of Skills at Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
Sushma Swaraj, the Indian Minister of External Affairs was named a ‘2016 Global Thinker’ by Foreign Policy magazine for her 'novel Twitter diplomacy'.
The Supreme Court (SC) on 15 December 2016 ordered the State and the Union Governments to remove all liquor shops located 500 metres or less from national and state highways.
The Union Cabinet on 14 December 2016 approved India’s approach to Climate Change Negotiations at the Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) which was held in Marrakesh, Morocco in November 2016.
Union Cabinet on 14 December 2016 approved the protocol for amending the agreement between India and Tajikistan for avoidance of double taxation.
The Indian Railways on 13 December 2016 tied-up with the State Bank of India (SBI) to install at least 10000 Point of Sale (POS) machines using debit or credit cards at the Public Reservation System (PRS) counters of Railways.
The Union Government on 8 December 2016 announced the package of incentives and measures for promotion of digital and cashless economy in the country.The Petroleum PSUs will offer incentive by providing a discount at the rate of 0.75 percent of the sale price to consumers on purchase of petrol/diesel, if the payment is made through digital means.Public sector insurance companies will provide incentive of up to 10 percent of the premium in general insurance policies and 8 percent in new life policies of Life Insurance Corporation sold through the customer portals, if payment is made through digital means.
Indian Railways on 5 December 2016 announced that the reservation of rail tickets for senior citizens will be directly linked to Aadhaar or Unique Identification (UID) cards from 1 April 2017 onwards on a mandatory basis for availing concessions at both counter and e-tickets.
Social-democrat Sorin Grindeanu was on 30 December 2016 named as the Prime Minister of Romania.
China in the last week of December 2016 commenced operations of Shanghai-Kunming line, one of the world's longest high-speed railways.
Beipanjiang Bridge, the world’s highest bridge that connects the province of Guizhou and Yunnan in the remote mountainous part of China was opened to traffic on 29 December 2016. The bridge spans 1850 feet (564 meters) above a gorge over the Beipan River.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on 28 December 2016 inaugurated Chashma-III nuclear power plant near Mianwali in Punjab Province.
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