Current Affairs Update – 31st December, 2015

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the important Current Affairs Update of 31st December, 2015. These are important for the upcoming LIC AAO 2016, Syndicated Manipal PO Exam and SIDBI Assistant Manager Exams.

• The World Bank signed a credit agreement of $50 million with
  the government today for education and skill training for minorities.
• “The Government of India and the World Bank today
  signed a $50 million credit for the Nai Manzil: The Education and Skills
  Training for Minorities Project to help young people from minority communities
  complete education and gain from market-driven training programmes with the aim
  of improving their employment outcome,” World Bank said in a release.
• The project will support the government’s national Nai
  Manzil (New Horizon) scheme, which was launched in August this year.
• The project will reach out to the disadvantaged youth from
  minority communities and support their enrolment in open schooling as well as
  provide hands-on vocational training.
• It will also provide post-placement support to assist them
  in finding sustainable employment, read the statement.

• The Andhra Pradesh Government on 30 December 2015 decided to
  hike the wages of Anganwadi workers. The wages of the Anganwadi workers will be
  increased from 4200 rupees to 7000 rupees and the wages of Anganwadi helpers
  will be hiked to 4500 rupees.
• It was also decided to replace the conventional street
  lights with LED lights in 659 villages across the state.
• The decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting presided by
  state Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in Vijayawada.
• In addition, the Cabinet decided to implement a new sand
  policy with effect from 1 February 2016. As per the policy, Mines Department
  will monitor tendering and auctioning of sand reaches in the state.

• Telecom major Bharti Airtel today said it has acquired the
  balance 26 per cent stake in Augere Wireless, which holds 4G spectrum in Madhya
  Pradesh, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company.
• Earlier, Airtel had announced acquiring 74 per cent stake in
  Augere Wireless but did not disclose financial details of the deal.
• Augere holds 20 Mhz of spectrum in 2300 Mhz band in Madhya
  Pradesh service area, which includes Chhattisgarh state, to be used for 4G
  services. The company had won this spectrum for Rs. 124.66 crore in 2010 but
  has not rolled out services.
• Airtel now has 20 Mhz in 2300 Mhz band across nine service
  areas. The company directly won this spectrum in four service areas for Rs.
  3,314.36 crore.
• Later, it acquired Qualcomm’s India unit which had spectrum
  in four circles including metros.
• Infotel Broadband, which was acquired by Reliance
  Industries, was the only bidder to win spectrum on pan-India basis in the 2300
  Mhz band in that auction.

• The Union Cabinet, presided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
  on 30 December 2015 gave its approval for signing a Memorandum of Understanding
  (MoU) for conservation of migratory birds of prey in Africa and Eurasia. The
  MoU, also called as Raptor MOU, will help India gain knowledge in effectively
  managing the habitats of the raptors.
• With the signing of the MoU, India will become the 54th
  signatory to the MoU.
• The MoU is also in conformity with the provisions of the
  existing Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, wherein the birds have been accorded
  protection.

• The Union Cabinet, presided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
  on 30 December 2015 approved the construction of 69 bridges including approach
  roads on the Tamu-Kyigone-Kalewa (TKK) road section of the trilateral highway
  in Myanmar.
• The bridges will be constructed at a cost of 371.58 crore
  rupees.

• The construction of bridges will impart all weather
  usability to the TKK road section, which is also part of the route for the
  proposed Imphal-Mandalay bus service.
• It will improve connectivity between India and Myanmar and
  facilitate the movement of goods and traffic.

• Continuing his meteoric rise, Indian Test captain Virat
  Kohli was today named ‘Cricketer of the Year’, while Mithali Raj was picked for
  the top women’s award in the BCCI annual honours to be given away on January 5
  in Mumbai.
• Under Kohli, the Indian team ended a 22-year wait for a
  series win on Sri Lankan soil before battering world No.1 South Africa to give
  them their first overseas loss in nine years.
• The right-hander has done well with the bat too, scoring 640
  runs in 15 Test innings that he played at an average of 42.67. In his 20 ODI
  outings this year, Kohli managed 623 runs at an average of 36.65.
• Mithali, on the other hand, became the first Indian woman
  and second overall to complete 5,000 runs in ODI format this year. Mithali will
  be presented with the M.A. Chidambaram Trophy for the best women’s cricketer.
• In other awards, former wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani will be
  presented the Col. C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award.
• The Karnataka State Cricket Association has been chosen the
  State association of the year for achieving the treble of winning the Ranji
  Trophy, Irani Cup and Vijay Hazare Trophy in the season.
• Karnataka all-rounder Robin Uthappa has been picked for the
  Madhavrao Scindia Award for being the highest run-scorer in Ranji Trophy.
  Uthappa scored 912 runs in 11 matches, averaging 50.66.
• The top wicket-taker’s award is being shared this year by
  Karnataka’s R Vinay Kumar and Mumbai’s Shardul Thakur, both of whom scalped 48
  in the previous season.

• Star India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has ended 2015 as
  the No. 1 Test bowler in the ICC rankings issued on Thursday on the back of his
  strong showing against South Africa in the recent home series.
• Ashwin, who took 62 wickets in nine Tests this year
  including 31 scalps in the four matches against South Africa, became the first
  India bowler since Bishen Bedi in 1973 to achieve the milestone of finishing
  the year on top.
• In fact, Bedi, an ICC Hall of Famer, is the only India
  bowler to ever top the Test bowling table, while Bhagwath Chandrasekhar, Kapil
  Dev and Anil Kumble peaked at number-two during their careers.
• Ashwin achieved the number-one spot for first time in his
  career after injury prevented South African Dale Steyn from bowling more than
  3.5 overs in England’s second innings in the Durban Test.
• Steyn had started the Durban Test leading Ashwin by four
  points and now trails the India off-spinner by the same margin. Even though the
  fast bowler bagged four wickets in the first innings, these were not enough for
  him to end the year as the number-one ranked bowler for the sixth time since
  2009.
• Ashwin’s successful season was reflected in his ranking
  after he started the year in 15th position and slowly but surely moved to the
  top of the chart.

• Laxmi Ratan Shukla, former Indian cricketer and Bengal
  all-rounder, on 30 December 2015 announced his retirement from all forms of
  cricket. However, he might continue playing for his club Mohun Bagan.
• Sukhla’s announcement came two days after he was named in
  the Bengal squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy starting on 2 January
  2016.

• Sweden’s Bjorn Isberg on 30 December 2015 was appointed as
  the Tournament Director of Coal India Hockey India League (HIL), the premier
  league for hockey in India.
• On the other hand, Muthukumar Balakrisnan from Malaysia was
  given the role of the Assistant Tournament Director in the 4th edition of the
  Coal India Hockey India League.
• Andy Mair from Scotland was named as the umpire’s manager
  for the league.

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on 30
  December 2015 approved the appointment of Dr Gyanendra D Bandgaiyan as the
  Director General of the National Centre for Good Governance.
• He will be in the office for a period of three years which
  is extendable by another two years or up to 60 years of age, whichever is
  earlier.
• The 54-year-old Bandgaiyan is a former IAS officer of the
  Union Territories cadre. He hails from Madhya Pradesh.
• He is also an Ex-Chief Economist, United Nations Development
  Programme (UNDP).

• A top Indian-origin cancer research expert has been
  conferred Knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II for being “hugely
  influential” in his work on prevention and treatment of cancer, according
  to the annual New Year’s Honours list released here today.
• Harpal Singh Kumar, the chief executive of Cancer Research
  UK (CRUK), has been honoured for services to cancer research and being
  “hugely influential in promoting research into the prevention, early
  diagnosis and treatment of cancer, and cancer care.”
• “CRUK’s income and research spend are at an all-time
  high. Under his leadership, it has been instrumental in pushing the government
  to take further measures to reduce smoking and to ban sun-beds for under-18s,”
  Kumar’s citation reads.
• Samir Desai, founder-CEO of Funding Circle, receives a
  Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his work
  in the field of financial inclusion and Raminder Singh Ranger, chairman of Sun
  Mark Ltd, is awarded a CBE for services to business and community cohesion.

• Japan and South Korea on 28 December 2015 reached an
  Agreement on Issue of Comfort Women.
• The agreement was reached after a meeting between Fumio
  Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan and Yun Byung-se, Minister of
  Foreign Affairs of South Korea in Seoul.
• It aims to resolve a decades-old dispute over Korean women
  who were used as sex slaves by Japanese soldiers during World War II.
• The agreement is considered as historic as the issue had
  been a bone of contention between the countries for decades.

• Ron Chandran-Dudley, a Singaporean of Indian-origin who
  championed the rights of handicapped both here and abroad, has died of a massive
  heart attack. He was 81.
• Chandran-Dudley breathed his last yesterday in a hospital
  where he was taken to after complaining of chest pain.
• He is survived by wife Rena Chandran-Dudley, 87, who said it
  was the worst attack she had seen him experience as he earlier had heart
  problems for which he underwent a quintuple bypass.
• Blinded at the age of 19 from a kick to his head during a
  rugby match, Chandran-Dudley was one of Singapore’s key pioneers, having
  established many of the handicapped welfare associations here.

• Former Newcastle United goalkeeper Pavel Srnicek died on 29
  December 2015 at Ostrava, Czech Republic. He was 47.
• Srnicek passed away nine days after suffering cardiac
  arrest.

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