Justice U.D. Salvi appointed acting chairperson of NGT

Justice Umesh Dattatraya Salvi took charge as acting chairperson of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), a day after Justice Swatanter Kumar retired. Justice Salvi is set to retire on February 13, 2018.

Samsung Unveils ‘World’s Smallest’ DRAM Chip

Samsung Electronics developed the world’s smallest DRAM chip. The “2nd-generation” 8-gigabit DRAM chips with improved energy efficiency and data processing performance will be used in mobile devices and high-speed graphics cards. The advantage of DRAM is the structural simplicity of its memory cells. Only 1 transistor and a capacitor are required per bit, compared to 4 to 6 in SRAM.

12th edition of the Ramnath Goenka Excellence Awards

The 12th edition of the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards were presented. The awards, which come with a trophy and a reward of Rs 1 lakh to each of the winners, recognise courage and commitment and showcase the outstanding contributions of journalists from across the country. Total 25 persons were awarded in different fields.

Mamang Dai, Ramesh Kuntal win Sahitya Akademi Award 2017

Mamang Dai and Ramesh Kuntal Megh has won the Sahitya Akademi Award 2017. Mamang Dai was awarded in English language for his novel The Black Hill. While, Ramesh Kuntal Megh won the award in Hindi for his literary criticism work Vishw Mithak Sarit Sagar. They were among the 24 winners who were awarded for their work in 24 different Indian languages.
The Other Winners of Sahitya Akademi Award 2017:
1. Udaya Narayana Singh (Maithili)
2. Shrikant Deshmukh (Marathi)
3. Bhujanga Tudu (Santali)
4. Inqulab (Tamil)
5. Devipriya (Telugu)
6. Shiv Mehta (Dogri)
7. Autar Krishen Rahbar (Kashmir)
8. Gajanan Jog (Konkani)
9. Gayatri Saraf (Odia)
10. Baig Ehsas (Urdu)

India’s Mithali Raj, Ekta Bisht selected in ICC Women’s ODI Team of the Year

Indian skipper Mithali Raj was named in the ICC Women’s ODI Cricket Team of the Year while left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht was the lone cricketer to find a place in the both the ODI and T20 Teams of the year announced by the world body. While England’s Heather Knight was named as the captain of the ICC ODI team of the year. Stafanie Taylor of the West Indies was appointed as the skipper of ICC T20I side. The teams were selected taking into consideration player performances from September 21, 2016 to date.

India and Switzerland ink deal for Information Exchange

In a move aimed at combating black money stashed abroad, India signed an agreement with Switzerland that would allow automatic sharing of tax-related information from January 1, 2018. The agreement was signed by CBDT chairman Sushil Chandra and Swiss Ambassador to India Andreas Baum at the North Block.

ICGS Sujay commissioned into by Indian Coast Guard

An Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) named ICGS Sujay was recently commissioned into Indian Coast Guard (ICG). It is sixth and last in the series of six 105m OPV built indigenously by Goa Shipyard Limited for ICG. Presently, ICG has fleet of 134 ships and boats and 66 ships and boats are at various stages of construction at different shipyards in India.

22 December: National Mathematics Day

The famed Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan’s birth anniversary on December 22 is celebrated as National Mathematics Day. It was in 2012 that then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared December 22 as National Mathematics Day. In 1917, Ramanujan was elected to be a member of the London Mathematical Society. In 1918 he also became a Fellow of the Royal Society, becoming the youngest person to achieve the feat. He passed away on April 6, 1920.

Salman Khan tops Forbes India Celebrity List 2017

With earnings of Rs232.83 crore, actor Salman Khan has topped the Forbes India Celebrity 100 list 2017 for the second consecutive year. While Shah Rukh Khan featured in the second spot with earnings of Rs170.50 crore, Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli came third with Rs100.72 crore earnings. Akshay Kumar and Sachin Tendulkar featured in the fourth and fifth spots respectively.

UN General Assembly rejects US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital

The United Nations General Assembly resolution declaring US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital as ‘null and void’, was passed with an overwhelming majority. The resolution moved by Turkey and Yemen was passed despite US President Donald Trump’s threats to cut funding to US and recipients who voted in favor. Overall, 128 nations including India voted in favour of the resolution, 9 voted against and 35 abstained from voting. The symbolic vote by the General Assembly is not, however, legally binding.