1. J&K
CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed passes away

  1. Jammu
    & Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad
    Sayeed passed away at the AIIMS hospital in New Delhi due to multi organ
    failure. He was 79.
  2. Sayeed was the first Muslim Minister for Home Affairs in India’s
    Union Cabinet in 1989.
  3. He was a member of the National Congress Party, which he quit to
    join V. P. Singh’s Jan Morcha and later rejoined NCP under Prime Minister
    PV Narasimha Rao.
  4. He finally quit the Congress in 1999 along with daughter Mehbooba
    Mufti to form his own party Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party
    (JKPDP).
  5. Sayeed was twice elected as the Chief Minister of the state. Owing to his death, Mehbooba Mufti is
    now expected to take over the post.

    2.
   French conductor & composer Pierre Boulez dies

  1. Pierre Boulez, former principal conductor of the New York
    Philharmonic, passed away in, Germany, aged 90.
  2. He significantly contributed to creating a radical new path for
    classical music in the 20th century and became one of its dominant figures
    in the decades after World War II.
  3. His recordings have won more than 25 Grammy awards. He worked with
    Chicago Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris and the
    London Symphony Orchestra.
  4. Boulez led the New York Philharmonic and the BBC Symphony Orchestra
    during the 1970s.
  5. During his long and successful career he was involved in
    conducting, composing and teaching that made him one of the leading
    figures in modern classical music.

   3.
  
Apurvi Chandela breaks record; wins gold at Swedish
Cup Grand Prix

  1. Indian shooter Apurvi Chandela broke the world record to win a gold
    medal in the women’s 10-metre air rifle event at the Swedish Cup Grand
    Prix.
  2. Chandela shot 211.2 in the event to beat Chinese Olympic gold
    medallist Yi Siling, who held the record with 211.
  3. Swedish shooters Astrid Steffensen and Stine Nielsen won the silver
    and bronze respectively.
  4. Chandela also won a gold medal in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in
    Glasgow, four medals at the Intershoot Championships at the Hague the same
    year.
  5. She bagged the gold medal in the 10-metre air rifle event at the
    National Shooting Championships in New Delhi in 2012.

   4.
   Hashim Amla resigns as South Africa Test captain

  1. South Africa Test captain Hashim Amla has resigned as the Test
    captain after the team drew the second Test against England.
  2. ODI captain AB de Villiers will take over as captain to complete
    the four-match Test series against England.
  3. Amla had replaced Graeme Smith’s in mid-2014 and this was his sixth
    series as the skipper.
  4. He has been criticised for his leadership since the start of the
    series against England. However, he resumed good form in the second match
    scoring 201 runs.

   5.
   Centre approves reservation for women in paramilitary
forces

  1. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has approved 33% reservation of
    Constable-level posts for women in order to enhance their representation.
  2. The 33% reservation of Constable-level posts in CRPF & CISF and
    14-15% posts at Constable-level in Border Security Force, Sashastra Seema Bal and Indo Tibetan
    Border Police, will be effected immediately.
  3. This decision was taken after the Committee on Empowerment of Women
    had recommended the need to give women due representation in paramilitary
    forces.

   6.
   Yahoo to reduce workforce by 10% or more

  1. Yahoo is planning to cut down on its workforce by 10% or more by
    January-end.
  2. The downsizing will majorly affect Yahoo’s media business, European
    operations, and platforms-technology group.
  3. Around 1000 employees of the company will be affected by this move,
    which was effected after activist investor Starboard Value LP letter’s to
    Yahoo.
  4. The letter was directed to CEO Marissa Mayer and her leadership
    team, raising the prospect that a proxy battle is imminent.
  5. There has been substantial pressure on the
    company to find a new path forward after a three-year turnaround failed to
    revitalise the business.

   7.
  Shatrughan Sinha publishes his biography Anything but Khamosh

  1. Actor and MP Shatrughan Sinha has published his biography titled Anything
    but Khamosh.
  2. Sinha’s autobiography was authored by Bharti S Pradhan on the basis
    of personal interviews spread over seven years beginning November 2008.

    8.
  E-commerce giant Flipkart to raise $1.4 billion

  1. Keeping up its fundraising spree and efforts to cement its leadership
    in the online retail market, e-commerce giant Flipkart has started talks
    with investors to raise $1.4 billion  (approximately 9,200 crores).
  2. US-based Sands Capital Management is in loop
    for the first round funding of $700 million. Sands Capital Ventures is
    known for financially backing grocery retailer Big-Basket and hyper-local
    logistics firm Opinio.
  3. Flipkart is hoping to take up the sale to $12 billion this year,
    which is a three-fold increase vis-a-vis last year.
  4. In the past two years, Flipkart has raised $2.6 billion in order to
    tackle challenges from cash-rich competitors.

     9.
  RIL rejects Shah Panel’s decisions, argues for arbitration

  1. Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has
    challenged the jurisdiction of a panel examining Oil and Natural Gas
    Corporation’s (ONGC) allegations that it pumped out gas from the state-run
    firm’s field.
  2. It has also challenged the oil ministry’s decision to intervene in
    the dispute by setting up a committee, headed by Justice AP Shah.
  3. RIL said in a letter, “RIL does not
    accept in this particular matter that the Government of India can appoint
    a ‘committee’ or can deal with any issues on the dispute”.

    10.
 Achyuta
Samanta elected General President of 105th Indian Science Congress

  1. Dr Achyuta Samanta has been elected as the General President of the
    105th Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) that is scheduled for
    2017-18.
  2. Dr Samanta is has been a serving member of the Executive Council of
    Indian Science Congress Association since 2011.
  3. This makes Samanta the second Odia after Prof Prana Krushna Parija
    to be elected as President of the Indian Science Congress.
  4. Dr Samanta is a well-known educationist and
    has set up renowned institutions like KIIT (Kalinga Institute of
    Information Technology) University that has around 25,000 students
    enrolled in about 25 programs and KISS (Kalinga Institute of Social
    Science) where around  25,000 indigenous students are being given
    free residential education from KG to PG.

 11.
Priyanka Chopra wins People’s Choice Award for favourite actress

  1. Priyanka Chopra has won the People’s Choice Award for favourite
    actress for her role in the ABC television series ‘Quantico’, her debut in
    American television.
  2. This makes Priyanka the first Indian actor to win an award at the
    People’s Choice Awards.

 12.
   Apple CEO Tim Cook earns $10.3 million salary in 2015

  1. Apple CEO Tim Cook earned $10.3 million in 2015, a hike of 11.5%
    since 2014. The year was favorable for the company, with its iPhone
    6S and 6S Plus registering booming China sales.
  2. Cook’s base pay rose by around 14.4% to $2 million last year, while
    non-equity incentive compensation was increased by about 19% to $8
    million.
  3. Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri’s annual
    compensation rose about 81% to $25.3 million in 2015.
  4. Cook holds about 3.1 million Apple shares that have not vested,
    potentially enabling him to earn over $310 million.
  5. The company faced a few disappointments at the end of 2015, with
    shares falling about 4.6% for the year and shares of the world’s most
    valuable company dropping below $100 for the first time in nearly five
    months.

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