Current Affairs Update – 18 Dec, 2014

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 15 December 2014
  increased RTGS (real time gross settlement) business hours from 7.30 hours to
  12 hours. With this, now the business hours for RTGS will be 8 am to 8 pm on
  weekdays as against the earlier 9 am to 4.30 pm.
• Further on Saturdays, the RTGS business hours has been
  increased from earlier 5 hours to 7.30 hours, that is, now a consumer will be
  able to transfer fund online between 8 am to 3.30 pm as against the earlier
  timings of 9 am to 2 pm.
• The decision will promote electronic payments and it will
  be effective from 29 December 2014.

• In 2013, RBI launched RTGS system, to keep enhancing the
  systems and procedures to meet the growing needs of markets or customers, and
  to cater to the expanding volume and to provide liquidity.
• The current minimum amount that can be transferred
  through RTGS channel is 2 lakh rupees. The amount below 2 lakh rupees can also
  be transferred online via NEFT (National Electronic Fund Transfer).
• The RBI revised the RTGS business hours to meet the
  market expectation. There has been demand for extending business hours of the
  RTGS system to facilitate customer and inter-bank transactions and also to
  facilitate other market obligations to settle in the RTGS system.

• The Reserve Bank of India on 17 December 2014 imposed
  monetary penalty on ICICI bank and Bank of Baroda for violation of its
  instructions regarding norms on Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti Money
  Laundering (AML).

1. ICICI Bank – 5 million rupees
2. Bank of Baroda – 2.50 million rupees

• RBI imposed the penalties on these organizations in
  exercise of powers vested under the provisions of Section 47(A)(1)(c) read with
  Section 46(4)(i) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
• Apart from this, RBI also cautioned State Bank of India,
  Axis Bank and State Bank of Patiala for violating KYC or AML instructions.
• RBI took the action on the basis of a complaint from a statutory
  organization in August 2013 through which details of a fraud committed in these
  five banks, namely, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank Ltd., Bank of Baroda, Axis
  Bank Ltd. and State Bank of Patiala, with the participation of certain
  officials of the statutory organization were brought to the Reserve Bank’s
  notice.
• The complaint mentioned that fraudsters managed to open
  fictitious accounts in the name of the statutory organisation in the above five
  banks and operated the accounts mainly for encashing cheques/demand
  drafts/postal orders of which they were not the rightful owners, for periods
  ranging from one month to two years, without being detected by the banks.

• Empays, a provider company of multi-bank payment systems,
  on 17 December 2014 announced that its Instant Money Transfer (IMT) service has
  received authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• The company was awarded the IMT payment system certificate
  of authorisation under the Payments and Settlements Act 2007.
• The certificate issued to Empays enables its IMT payment
  system to access clearing and settlement arrangements between member-banks
  directly under the RBI, making it work across banks.

• The IMT payment system is a multi-bank mobile transfer
  solution and it combines mobile phones and ATMs to reach the unbanked making it
  a unique milestone in money transfers, payments and financial inclusion in
  India.

• The PSS Act, 2007, that came into force on 12 August
  2008, provides for the regulation and supervision of payment systems in India
  and designates the RBI as the authority for that purpose and all related
  matters. The Act also provides the legal basis for netting and settlement
  finality.

• The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA)
  has imposed Rs. 31 lakh penalty on Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life
  Insurance Company Ltd for setting policies in favour of master policy holders
  under non-employee/employer groups.
• “The practice of issuing claim payments in favour of
  Master Policy Holders (Self Help Groups in this case) but not in favour of the
  beneficiary of the group insurance policy has a potential of jeopardising the
  financial interests of the dependents of the deceased policyholder,’’ the
  regulator said in a circular issued here on Thursday.
• The regulatory had also warned the company citing many
  other lapses in adhering to the norms in many cases.

• Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has been conferred
  the PSE Excellence Award 2014 for ‘Corporate Governance & Innovation in
  Business’ by the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) at the 5th Summit on “India:
  Public Sector Agenda” organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce with the
  support of Department of Public Enterprises and Ministry of Heavy Industries.
• HAL Chairman, R. K. Tyagi, received the award from Uttar
  Pradesh Ram Naik in New Delhi on Wednesday.
• PSE Excellence Awards constituted in 2010, is an
  initiative to salute the industry game changers and recognise contributors to
  the Indian economy in view of the positive role played by the PSEs in
  addressing global demands.
• A conclave was also organised to take view of PSEs space
  from a global perspective, highlight the achievements and check readiness of
  PSEs in global supply chain.

• Thrissur-based Esaf Microfinance has been shortlisted for
  the European Microfinance Award 2014 for its ‘clean energy for the poor’
  initiative.
• Esaf, along with two other finalists, were picked for
  ‘contributing directly to improving the lives of the clients.’
• Esaf Microfinance operates in six States, covering 34
  districts and reaches out to more than seven lakh members.
• Dia Vikas Capital, a subsidiary of Opportunity
  International, Australia, and Manaveeya Holdings, a subsidiary of Oiko Credit
  Netherlands, are major social investors in Esaf.
• Esaf is now in the process of applying for a small bank
  licence, a company spokesman said without disclosing details.
• K Paul Thomas, Managing Director, said Esaf has supported
  more than 70,000 clients with clean energy solutions in the form of solar
  energy products, smart cooking stoves, and water filters.

• The
  Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar
  on 17 December 2014 approved proposals to buy military equipments worth 4444
  crore rupees.

1. Purchase
   of four helicopters for survey vessels for the Indian Navy would cost 2324
   crore rupees.
2. Upgradation
   of Indigenous Samyukta Electronic Warfare systems (EWS) would cost 1682 crore
   rupees. EWS would be modernised along with a maintenance contract for the next
   10 years. Samyukta consists of vehicles with equipment for surveillance,
   interception, monitoring and jamming of all communication and radar signals
3. Proposal
   relating to purchase of P-7 Heavy Drop Platform and the naval survey vessels
   would cost 402 crore. This will extend the life of airbags fitted under the
   platform for damage free touchdown of payload weighing less than 7 tonnes from
   eight to fifteen years.
4. Proposal
   to acquire propeller engine for offshore patrol vessel of the Coast Guard would
   cost 36 crore rupees.

• However,
  DAC could not reach on a conclusion on the joint bid of Tata Sons Ltd and
  Airbus to replace the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Avro transport fleet though the
  tender floated by IAF was cleared by DAC in its meeting on 19 July 2014.
• Tata
  Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) and Airbus Defence and Space had made a joint bid
  for 56 medium-transport aircraft of IAF valued at 20000 crore (3 billion US
  dollars).
• Avro
  transport fleet is a twin-turboprop tactical military aircraft of six to eight
  tonne class which has a cruise speed of 800 kms per hour and a range of
  2500-2800 kms.
• Earlier on
  22 November 2014, DAC had cleared a proposal to buy 814 artillery guns for the
  army at a cost of 15750 crore rupees to fill gaps in India’s defence
  capabilities. The army has not bought a single artillery gun since the Bofors
  scandal exploded in the late 1980s.
• The
  artillery guns would be bought under the government’s “Buy and Make” procedure
  introduced in 2013 to strengthen the indigenous defence sector. The plan is to
  go in for off-the-shelf purchase of 100 guns and manufacture the remaining in
  the country.
• With the
  passage of this 4444 crore rupees proposal and including the 15750 crore rupees
  proposal of November 2014, NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
  had cleared defence projects of more than 140000 crore rupees since it was
  voted into power in May 2014.

• The Indian
  Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched India’s heaviest
  rocket GSLV Mark-III-X carrying Crew module Atmospheric Reentry Experiment
  (CARE) from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on 18 December 2014. It weighs 630
  tonnes.

• Objective
  behind the test of the 155 crore rupees mission was to check the atmospheric
  stability around four tonne luggage and study the re-entry characteristics of
  the crew module.
• The GSLV
  Mark-III-X lifted off from the second launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space
  Centre carrying the human crew module CARE and separated the crew module at an
  altitude of 126 km for re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere.
• The module
  controlled by 3 parachutes safely splashed down into the Bay of Bengal off
  Andaman and Nicobar Islands and was recovered by coast guards near Indira
  Point, the southernmost point of India.
• The
  experiment lasted for about 20 minutes saw all the events as pre-planned. The
  successful completion of the experimental test will boost India’s mission of
  sending human to the space. It will also double the capacity of payloads India
  can carry into space.
• The full-fledged
  launch of the rocket will take place in two years and is likely to be held in
  another two years.
• A few years
  back ISRO had carried out a similar experiment on a smaller scale in which the
  module had orbited around the earth for 15 days before entering back.

• It will
  help India become self-reliant in launching heavier communication satellites of
  INSAT-4 class weighing 4500 to 5000 kg.
• It would
  also enhance the capability of the country to be a competitive player in the
  multimillion dollar commercial launch market.
• It will
  double the capacity of payloads India can carry into space boosting India’s
  mission of sending human to the space.

• Druzhba-Dosti
  is a term used for vision statement of India and Russia over the next decade
  released during the 15th Indo – Russia Annual Summit held in New Delhi on 11
  December 2014.
• The joint
  statement was released by during the visit of Russian President Vladimir V
  Putin to India at the invitation of the Prime Minister of India Narendra Mod to
  hold the annual summit.
• The vision
  statement focused on strengthening the partnership over the next decade through
  concrete initiatives in diverse areas so as to make the bilateral institutional
  dialogue architecture more result-oriented and forward-looking. Both the
  counties also resolved to continue to meet on the margins of multilateral events.

• Supreme
  Court (SC) on 17 December 2014 directed the Union government to not appoint the
  Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) and Vigilance Commissioner (VC) without its
  approval.
• The apex
  court asked the Union to constitute a panel comprising of 15 names to select
  the CVC and submit it in a sealed envelope by 15 January 2015.
• Although
  the court allowed the Union government to continue with the selection process
  but asked it to submit the details of the selection process. To which, Attorney
  General Mukul Rohtagi informed the court that he will submit the relevant
  details in sealed cover.
• The
  direction was given by a SC bench comprising of Chief Justice of India Justice
  H L Dattu and Justice Madan B Lokur.
• The
  direction was given by the SC while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL)
  filed by Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Centre for Integrity, Governance
  and Training in Vigilance Administration.
• In the
  PIL, the NGO alleged that the selection process for the CVC being done by the
  Union is opaque as vacancies related to the post of CVC and one VC has not been
  widely publicized keeping the door closed to common man. The post of CVC and
  VCs has been lying vacant since the completion of tenure of the then CVC Pradip
  Kumar and the then VC J M Garg on 28 September 2014 and 7 September 2014
  respectively.
• The NGO
  further contended that Union government ought to have similar procedure for
  making appointment of CVC and VCs as is being done in the case of filling up
  one post of chairperson and eight posts of members in the Lokpal under the
  provisions of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013.

• Union
  Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has decided to adopt Karnali group panchayat
  villages in Gujarat’s Vadodara district as part of the ‘Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojna’,
  a senior official has said.
• Four
  villages of Karnali, Pipaliya, Vadiya and Baglipura are covered under Karnali
  group panchayat of Dabhoi taluka.
• Vadodara
  District Collector Vinod Rao told PTI that he received a letter in this regard
  from Jaitley yesterday.
• “The
  district administration will develop various facilities in the villages and
  make Karnali a tourist spot as lakhs of devotees of Lord Shiva visit the Kuber
  Bhandari temple located in this village every year,” Rao said.
• The total
  population of the four villages is 2,506 — Karnali (736), Pipaliya (717),
  Vadiya (631) and Baglipura (422), sub-divisional magistrate L B Bambhaliya
  said.
• The
  Karnali village’s ancient Kuber Bhandari temple, having mythological
  importance, has the potential to emerge as a major tourist spot as lakhs of
  devotees visit it to offer prayers on the day of ‘amavasya’, a local priest
  said.

• Tashi
  Malik and Nungshi Malik from Dehradun, Uttarakhand on 16 December 2014 became
  the world’s first twin and sibling to climb the highest peaks of the seven
  continents.
• They
  achieved the feat after scaling Antarctica’s highest mountain, Mount Vinson at
  4892 meters during their Mission 2 for 7. The two sisters dedicated Mission 2
  for 7 to the cause of the Indian girl child.

• February
  2012: Conquered Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania (Africa continent)
• May 2013:
  Conquered Mount Everest in Nepal (Asia continent)
• August
  2013: Conquered Mount Elbrus in Russia (Europe continent)
• January
  2014: Conquered Mount Aconcagua in Argentina (South America continent)
• March
  2014: Conquered Mount Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia (Oceania continent)
• June
  2014: Conquered Mount McKinley in Alaska (North America continent)
• December
  2014: Conquered Mount Vinson of Antarctica (Antarctica continent)

• Academician
  and journalist Ghanta Chakrapani was on 17 December 2014 appointed as the first
  Chairman of the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC). He will hold
  the TSPSC office for six years.
• Chakrapani
  is presently the Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences at B.R. Ambedkar Open
  University (BRAOU).

• Born in
  Yaswada village of Telangana, Ghanta Chakrapani did his post-graduation in
  Sociology and Communication and Journalism from Osmania University.
• He worked
  in all the popular Telugu newspapers including Udayam, Andhra Jyothi before
  moving into academics.

• Earlier in
  August 2014,  Telangana government
  notified a Government Order (GO No 43) for constitution of the Telangana State
  Public Service Commission (TSPSC).
• According
  to the Article 315 of Indian Constitution and Section 83(2) of the Andhra
  Pradesh Re-Organisation Act, 2014 (Central Act.6/2014), it is provided for
  constitution of a Public Service Commission in the Successor State of Telangana
  after its bifurcation from Andhra Pradesh.

• The
  Supreme Court (SC) on 17 December 2014 directed the Union Government to
  complete fencing work along Indo-Bangladesh border within three months.
• The
  direction was given to check cross-border influx of illegal Bangladesh
  nationals into Assam. It also asked the government to streamline the process to
  deport them back.
• The court
  also asked the Union government why even after 67 years of independence, the
  eastern border is left porous while border with Pakistan is properly fenced. It
  further said that it would monitor the steps taken by the government and sought
  periodic status report after every three months.
• The apex
  court, taking note of the existing mechanism for deportation and international
  protocol, also asked the government to hold discussions with the Bangladesh
  government for ensuring that illegal migrants are sent back.

• Union
  Ministry of Coal on 17 December 2014 notified the draft rules for e-auction of
  92 cancelled coal mines in first phase. For this, government fixed a floor
  price of 150 rupees per tonne for sectors like captive power, steel, sponge
  iron and cement.
• The draft
  notification was issued in accordance with the Coal Mines (Special Provision)
  Ordinance 2014 wherein the Nominated Authority was required to prepare a tender
  document. Accordingly, Union government prepared an approach paper for public
  consultation and has sought comments from stakeholders by 22 December 2014.

• The
  e-auction may be conducted on forward/reverse basis, depending on the end-use
  industry.
• The
  forward bidding will be used for production of iron and steel, generation of
  power for captive use and cement while reverse bidding will be used for
  generation of power.
• Applications
  will be sought from intending companies in these sectors for pre-qualifications
  and only the top 50 per cent of the pre-qualified bidders will be allowed to
  submit their bids.
• The
  indicative price offer shall be bid price per tonne of the coal produced. Such
  bid price shall be above the floor price in case of forward bidding or below
  the ceiling price in case of reverse bidding.
• The
  Intrinsic Value of the coal block will be calculated by computing its Net
  Present Value, based on the Discounted Cash Flow method. 10 per cent of the
  Intrinsic Value will be payable upfront.
• On fixing
  the ceiling price for coal mines to be auctioned for power projects having
  cost—plus power purchase agreements, a ceiling price of the prevailing CIL
  notified price for each coal mine will be fixed and the bidder will be mandated
  to quote lower than this ceiling price.
• A fixed
  reserve price of 100 rupees per tonne of coal shall be payable, as per actual
  production by the mine allottee.
• For power
  plants having uncontracted capacity, the bidder shall be restricted to cap its
  merchant capacity at 20 percent of the installed power capacity linked to the
  alloted coal mine. The reserve price in such cases shall not be less than 150
  rupees per tonne.

• India on Thursday reacted very strongly on the bail
  granted to Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, one of the
  masterminds behind 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
• Earlier on Thursday, a Pakistani antiterrorism court
  Lakhvi, who is charged with involvement in the Mumbai attacks. The decision of
  the court to grant Lakhvi bail caused outrage in India which comes just a day
  after Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said there is no “good and
  bad” Taliban after the Pakistani Taliban carried out the massacre in a
  Peshawar school that saw 131 schoolchildren and 9 teachers dead.
• The antiterrorism court granted the bail on a bond of
  Pakistani Rs 500,000.
• Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) prosecutor
  disagreed with the bail request. However, advocate Rizwan Abbasi, representing
  Lakhvi, appeared before the court as the bail pleas was granted, Dawn online
  reported.
• LeT operations commander Lakhvi, Abdul Wajid, Mazhar
  Iqbal, Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younas Anjum were arrested in
  2009 for their alleged role in the attacks in which 166 people were killed and
  over 300 injured.
• Lakhvi and six others had filed bail applications on Wednesday
  even as lawyers were observing strike to condemn the terrorist attack on the
  army-run school in Peshawar that left 148 people, mostly children, dead.
• The Indian government said that it is working with its
  mission in Pakistan to prepare a strong response against granting of bail to
  LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.

• Minorities Rights Day on 18 December 2014 was observed
  across the world to create awareness on rights of minorities. On this day,
  governments and NGO’s conduct debates on the recent developments in policies
  and practices in Minority Rights both in India and at the global level. 
• In India, National Commission for Minorities (NCM) is the
  statutory body that observes Minorities Rights Day on18 December every year.

• On 18 December 1992, United Nations (UN) promulgated the
  Declaration on the Rights of Persons belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious
  and Linguistic Minorities, to strengthen the cause of the minorities.
• UN proclaimed that States shall protect the existence of
  the National or Ethnic, Cultural, Religious and Linguistic identity of
  minorities within their respective territories and encourage conditions for the
  promotion of that identity.

• The Marathi film Kapus Kondyachi Goshta (The Unending
  Story) in the second week of December 2014 was nominated in the Best Picture
  Category of the 87th Academy Awards, popularly known as Oscars.
• The film is based on the real-life story of four sisters in
  a small village near Nagpur.
• The American Academy of Motion Picture, Arts and Sciences
  recently disclosed the list of 323 films that have been nominated in the Best
  Picture category.
• The final nominations shortlist for the Oscar awards will
  be announced on 15 January 2015 while the awards will be given on 22 February
  2015.

• The film directed by Pune-based director Mrunalini
  Bhosale is about the daily struggles of four sisters against the backdrop of
  farmer suicides in Vidarbha in Maharashtra. The film depicts the story of
  triumph over tragedy, where the strong will of simple village girl wins over
  all odds to become an inspiration for many. The film also details the social
  ostracism and poverty rife among Vidarbha’s cotton growers.
• The film is produced by Ravindra alias Nitin Bhosale and
  written by Prasad Namjoshiand. Lead actors of the film are Makarand Anaspure,
  Samidha Guru and Bharat Ganeshpure.

• 2014: Best Film – Women Empowerment – Mrunalini Bhosale

• 2014: Best Feature Film – Kapus Kondyachi Goshta

• 2014: Best Feature Film – Kapus Kondyachi Goshta

• 2014: Best Actress Award – Samidha Guru

• Indian film director Ritesh Batra’s ‘The Lunchbox’ has
  been named best first feature at the 18th annual Toronto Film Critics Association
  (TFCA) awards in Toronto.
• It’s the only Indian movie to win a TFCA award, voted by
  the members of the association, which includes Toronto-based journalists and
  broadcasters who specialise in film criticism and commentary.
• The 2013 love story, featuring Irrfan Khan with Nimrat
  Kaur, has had its share of rounds at international movie festivals, including
  the Cannes International Film Festival.
• The awards, to be hosted by Cameron Bailey, artistic
  director of the Toronto International Film Festival, will be presented at a
  gala dinner here Jan 6, next year, said their official site
  torontofilmcritics.com.
• Richard Linklater’s coming-of-age drama “Boyhood” has won
  three top prizes at the 2014 awards of the TFCA.
• In addition to the film’s best picture award, Linklater
  has won best director, and Patricia Arquette has been named best supporting
  actress.

• China in the third week of December 2014 developed a long-range
  and non-lethal Pain Beam weapon named Poly WB-1. The weapon can be used to
  break up riots or protests from a distance.
• The Poly WB-1 was unveiled at an air show in China and it
  uses a millimeter-wave beam that can travel distances of up to One kilometer.
• China developed the weapon for naval applications to deal
  with confrontation in non-lethal ways. The WB-1 will be mounted in ships,
  majorly in those patrolling disputed waters.
• Poly WB-1 is similar to the Active Denial System (ADS)
  created by Raytheon, which was sent to Afghanistan with the United States
  military, but was not used in combat and recalled in 2010.
• Once the beam comes in contact with a person, the beam
  disperses the crowd through heating up water molecules just below the skin
  causing intense pain resulting into recoiling of the person. But if longer
  busts are made at certain frequencies, it will cause the flesh to burn and
  blister.

• Reverend Libby Lane was on 17 December 2014 appointed as
  the first female bishop of the Church of England. She will become the new
  Bishop of Stockport, a post that was vacant since May 2014.
• Libby will succeed the Reverend Robert Atwell, who is now
  the Bishop of Exeter. The nomination of Libby as the new Bishop of Stockport
  was approved by the Queen of England.
• As Bishop of Stockport, she will serve as a suffragan
  (assistant) bishop in the Diocese of Chester. Presently, Lane is the vicar at
  St Peter’s Hale and St Elizabeth’s Ashley.
• Lane will be consecrated as the eighth bishop of the town
  at a ceremony at York Minster on 26 January 2015. Her appointment will end
  centuries of male leadership of the Church.

• Libby Lane was ordained as a priest in 1994 and has
  served a number of parish and chaplaincy roles in the North of England in the
  Dioceses of Blackburn, York and Chester.
• She has been the vicar at St Peter’s Hale and St
  Elizabeth’s Ashley since 2007. Later in 2010, she became the Dean of Women in
  Ministry for the diocese since January 2010.

• The head of the United States Agency for International
  Development (USAID) Rajiv Raj Shah on 17 December 2014 resigned from his
  position.
• Rajiv will leave the office in February 2015. However,
  the reason behind his resignation was not revealed.
• Shah joined the office of USAID on 24 December 2009.
  Being the head of USAID, Shah led more than 9600 professionals in 80 missions
  around the world, and managed an annual budget of over 22 billion US dollars.

• Shah served as Under Secretary of Agriculture for
  Research, Education and Economics and Chief Scientist at the US Department of
  Agriculture in 2009.
• He worked in a range of leadership roles at the Bill
  & Melinda Gates Foundation including Director of Agricultural Development,
  Director of Financial Services and manager of the Foundation’s 1.5 billion US
  dollars commitment to the Vaccine Fund.
• He co-founded Health Systems Analytics, a health care
  consulting firm and the Project IMPACT for South Asian Americans.

• The United States (US) on 17 December 2014 slapped
  sanctions on oil trading firms of Netherland and Switzerland countries. These
  oil firms are Staroil B V of Netherlands and Rixo International Trading Ltd and
  Bluemarine SA of Switzerland.
• The US Treasury put sanctions on the firms due to their
  dealings with the Government of Syria, which has been engaged in bloody civil
  war with rebel forces. As a result, these firms were effectively cut from the
  US financial system.
• The US Treasury also put sanctions on several officials
  from the Syria-based firms, as well as on companies from Syria and another from
  the United Arab Emirates.

• Indian-American Amit Priyavadan Mehta was on 17 December
  2014 appointed  as a federal judge in the
  district of Columbia by the US Senate. He is the first Asian Pacific American
  to occupy this position.
• He was nominated for the post by President Barack Obama
  in July 2014.

• Mehta is a graduate of Georgetown University and the
  University of Virginia School of Law, Order of the Coif.
• He had served as a clerk for judge Susan Graber, US court
  of appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
• Mehta has represented plaintiffs and defendants in
  federal civil matters, including antitrust and a Securities and Exchange
  Commission enforcement action.

• Victory Day was celebrated in Bangladesh on 16 December
  2014.  The day observes liberation of
  Bangladesh from the Pakistan forces in 1971 War of Liberation in which about
  three million people were killed.
• On this day, President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister
  Sheikh Hasina paid their homage to the 1971 Liberation War martyrs at the
  National Memorial in Bangladesh.
• The day was celebrated with 31-gun salute at National
  Parade Ground in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in Bangladesh. Many leaders of Bangladesh
  and diplomats of many countries also paid their homage to the martyrs.

• Victory Day observed on 16 December annually commemorates
  the surrender of Pakistan forces to allied Indian and Bangladeshi forces in the
  Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. In Bangladesh this day is a national holiday
  and is known as Bijoy Dibosh in Bangladesh.

• After releasing three singles off her first music album
  in the US and voicing an Indian character in Disney Toon film Planes, Priyanka
  Chopra is all set to take her Hollywood stint to the next level.
• According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Mary Kom actress
  has been signed on for a talent holding deal with American TV network ABC.
• As part of the one-year pact under the network’s
  diversity casting program, ABC will either incorporate Chopra in an existing
  show or launch a new project starring her.
• This is a first of its kind deal for Chopra, who became
  the first Indian celebrity to have been signed on as the global face of Guess
  last year.
• Chopra’s Hollywood journey began with the release of her
  first single In My City, that was also used as the theme song to the 2013
  season of the NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football.
• Subsequent singles — Exotic and I Can’t Make You Love Me
  — gained popularity upon release too.
• According to reports, ABC executive Keli Lee, who
  spearheads the network’s diversity casting program, traveled to Mumbai to sign
  Chopra.
• Other notable stars to have been signed on under the same
  program are Kerry Washington for Scandal and Sandra Oh for medical drama Grey’s
  Anatomy.

• Rory McIlroy of Ireland on 16 December 2014 was named as
  the 2014 Race to Dubai European Tour Golfer of the Year. He won the award for
  the second time in three seasons. Earlier he won the award in 2012.
• Having been named Golfer of the Month in May 2014, July
  2014 and August 2014, he was unanimously voted the top player for 2014
• He defeated Henrik Stenson, the 2013 European Tour Player
  of the Year, and became the first player to top both the PGA Tour and European
  Tour money lists in the same year on two different occasions.
• Currently, he is the World Number One and a four-time
  major champion. His major triumphs in 2014 came at the 143rd British Open
  Championship and US PGA Championship, the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and the
  BMW PGA Championship, the European Tour’s flagship event.

• Paul McGinley won Sports Personality Coach of the Year
  2014 at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards in Glasgow. He was
  awarded for guiding the European team to win the Ryder Cup of Golf at
  Gleneagles in UK in September 2014.
• Under his guidance Europe defeated the United States by
  16.5 points to 11.5 points.
• In December 2014, McGinley was appointed as captain of
  the Irish golf team for the Rio Olympics scheduled to be held in 2016.
• The Sports Personality of the Year Awards is presented by
  the BBC Sports annually in December.

• Sports Personality of the Year: Lewis Hamilton of Britain
  (F1 Driver)
• Young Sports Personality of the Year: Italy-born Claudia
  Fragapane of Britain (Artistic gymnast)
• Lifetime Achievement: 
  Sir Christopher Andrew “Chris” Hoy of Britain (Racing driver
  and former track cyclist)
• Overseas Sports Personality of the Year: Cristiano
  Ronaldo of Portugal (Footballer)
• Get Inspired Unsung Hero: Jill Stidever of Leicestershire
  (Swimming coach)
• Helen Rollason award: Invictus Games competitors of
  London
• Team of the Year: England women’s rugby union team

• Hariom Singh on 17 December 2014 won Gold medal in the
  Men’s 50-metre Rifle Prone event at the 58th National Shooting Championships
  held in Pune. Representing Indian Army Hariom won the Gold with a total of 205
  in the finals.
• Aditya U Singh of Air Force won Silver with 204.8 poits
  and Beijing Olympic Gold medalist Abhinav Bindra won Bronze with 183.8 points.
  Olympic Bronze medalist Gagan Narang finished at fourth place in the eight-man
  final.

• Gold: Army Marksmanship Unit 1855.3 (Chain Singh 625.7,
  Surendra Singh Rathore 616.4, Sushil Ghaley 613.2)
• Silver: Air Force 1845.2 (Aditya U Singh 617.8, Ravi
  Kumar 614.6, Deepak Kumar 612.8)
• Bronze:  Uttar
  Pradesh 1842.4 (Ishan Goel 622.4, Anubhav Pratap Singh 615.9, Ajit Kumar Singh
  604.1).

• Former Olympic wrestling champion Steeve Guenot was
  suspended for one year on Thursday by the French anti-doping agency for missing
  doping tests.
• The French wrestling federation said Guenot, who won gold
  in the 66-kilogram category at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and bronze in London
  four year later, failed to give details about his whereabouts and was twice
  absent from his house for out-of-competition tests between February and July
  this year.
• The French federation said he never tested positive
  despite being regularly targeted since he won Olympic gold six years ago.
• Guenot, who has been suspended until July 30, 2015, will
  not appeal the decision, meaning that he won’t be able to compete at the European
  Games in Baku next June.
• The 29-year-old Guenot is currently sidelined following
  surgery on his right hip and hopes to return at the world championships in Las
  Vegas in September and then to qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.