INTERNATIONAL

1. 5¬day event Tomorrow’s India Global Summit held in Seoul (South Korea), by Global Social India Foundation to provide a platform to offer investment opportunities for Indian start¬up community.

2. 7th edition of Mountain Echoes Literary Festival 2016 held in Thimpu (Bhutan) with focus on climate change, women’s voices and travel writing.

3. 9 member Kathakali dance troupe performed for first time in Egypt, as part of 14th Summer Festival organized by Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

4. State of ICT in Asia and the Pacific 2016: Uncovering the Widening Broadband Divide report by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) ¬

India ranks 39th in terms of fixed broadband adoption in the list of 53 Asia Pacific countries. India ranks lower than countries such as Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Bangladesh in fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants in 2015.Hong Kong, New Zealand, Japan, Macao, Australia and Singapore topped the list.

5. AXA tied up with Alibaba for distributing AXA's insurance products through Alibaba's global e¬commerce ecosystem

6. Amsterdam¬based human resource consulting firm Randstad Holdings acquired job portal Monster Worldwide for USD 429 millions (Apprx 2700 Crore Rupees).

7. Apple bought USA based machine learning startup Turi, to strengthen its reach in artificial intelligence.

8. As per report by Assocham, India is 3rd in terms of number of technology-driven start¬ups in world, with USA and UK at first two places.

9. Auto component maker Spark Minda group formed joint venture with China's Shandong Beiqi Hai Hua Automobile Firm, called Minda China Plastic Solutions Ltd.

10. China and 10 member countries of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed to form a framework for a code of conduct to ease tension in disputed South China Sea. Agreement was reached during a meeting at Inner Mongolia in northern China.

11. China began operating its indigenously designed bullet trains which can clock 350 kmph speed, the country’s first passenger train using Electric Multiple Units technology.

12. China has set up its own aircraft engine maker with registered capital of 50 billion yuan ($7.5 billion), in the latest effort to develop home¬grown, high¬tech businesses to compete in international markets. It will develop both military and commercial  engines.

13.China launched Tiantong¬01 meant for mobile telecommunication, using Long March¬3B carrier rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Centre.

14. China launched a new high¬resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) ¬ Gaofen¬3, using a Long March 4C rocket. Gaofen¬3 satellite is China’s first low orbit remote sensing satellite with lifespan of 8 years. It will provide high-definition remote sensing data over long periods of time.

15. China launched its first Tibetan¬language search engine ‘Yongzin’. In the Tibetan language, Yongzin means "master" or "teacher".

16. China launched world’s first quantum satellite dubbed as Quantum Experiments at Space Scaler (QUESS) satellite, nicknamed as Micius after a 5th century BC Chinese philosopher. It will help China to establish hack¬proof communications system by transmitting uncrackable keys from space to ground.

17. China's unmanned submersible dived to 10,767 metres to set a national record. World record for deepest dive is in name of acques Piccard and Donald who made deepest dive in history at 10,915 meters.

18. Colombia government reached historic deal for ending a half¬century long conflict with country’s biggest rebel group ¬ FARC Rebels.

19. Director Goutam Ghosh's National award¬winning film Shankhachil, an Indo-Bangla joint production has been selected for 40th Montreal World Film Festival.

20. First¬ever 'Pizza ATM' in world has been installed at Xavier university in Ohio (USA) by a French based company Paline.

21.. Forbes World’s Most Innovative Companies ¬

List is topped by Tesla Motors for the second consecutive year.

Five Indian companies in List ¬ Asian Paints (18th), Hindustan Unilever (31st), Tata Consultancy Services (66th), Sun Pharma (73rd), Larsen & Toubro (89th).

22. Forbes list of World's Highest¬Paid Actors 2016 ¬

Dwayne Johnson – $64.5 million

Jackie Chan – $61 million

23. Forbes list of World's Highest¬Paid Actresses 2016 ¬

With Yearly earnings of 46 Million USD, Jennifer Lawrence is at top. 2nd ¬ Melissa McCarthy (33 million), 

• Deepika Padukone is only Indian in top 10 and newcomer to World’s Highest-Paid Actresses (with earnings of 10 Million USD).

24. Forbes' Change The World List ¬

Cipla (46th) and Godrej (48th) are Only Indian firms in list that has been topped by British pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline.

List also has India¬born Ajay Banga's Mastercard (7th).

25. Google has been fined 438 million rubles ($6.75 million) by Russian antitrust authority for abusing its market position following a complaint by Yandex, Russia’s biggest search engine. Google forced Android makers to install its search engine on their devices, which has been seen to breach protecting competition laws.

26. Government approved Agreement with Croatia on Economic Cooperation.

27. Government approved Air Services Agreement (ASA) between India and Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR).

28. Government approved MoU between Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT¬In) and CERT¬UK.

29. Government approved MoU with South Africa for cooperation in Tourism.

30. Government approved creating a Project Development Fund (PDF) for catalysing Indian economic presence in CLMV countries (Cambodia, Laos Myanmar and Vietnam), with a corpus of Rs 500 Crores. It will be operated through the EXIM Bank and will reside in Department of Commerce. CLMV countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) have a unique position in regional

• value chains in Southeast Asia region as they offer a gateway for market access to China, European Union and other markets due to various trade agreements.

31. Health & Family Welfare Minister J P Nadda Government launched MAA (Mothers’ Absolute Affection), a nation¬wide breast feeding programme. Actress Madhuri Dixit is brand ambassador of this campaign.

MAA programme aims to enhance optimal breastfeeding practices in the country.

Health Ministry has allocated 30 crore rupees for this Programme and 4.3 lakh rupees for each district for implementing various activities under MAA programme.

32. Hindustan Unilever acquired Swedish mobile air purification technology firm Blueair.

33. IBM and Apple launched a new global development hub at Manyata Tech Park in Bengaluru, aimed at helping clients in India complete digital mobility process platform.

34. IKEA, Netherlands based global leader in retail furniture, has laid foundation for its first store in India in Hyderabad. It will be opened in July 2017, an investment of 700 crores.

35. India and USA signed Logistics Exchange Memorandum Of Agreement (LEMOA) that establishes basic terms, conditions, and procedures for reciprocal provision of Logistic Support, Supplies, and Services between armed forces of India and USA.

36. India approached United States (US) and select European countries part of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to crack terror fund trail details of Al Rehmat Trust from Pakistan. Al Rehmat Trust is financer of terrorist outfit Jaish¬e-Mohammad (JeM) which carried out attack at Pathankot airbase (in Punjab) in January 2016.

37. India extended help of USD 1 million to African Nation Zimbabwe, responding to an appeal by Zimbabwe nation for help to deal with severe drought caused by El Nino phenomenon.

38. India will give assistance of Rs 4 Crore Nepali Rupees for construction of a Sanskrit school in eastern Nepal.

39. Indian Oil Corporation sigend MOU with Roads and Highways Department of Bangladesh on Route Permit for carrying Petroleum Goods via Bangladesh.

40. Intel acquired California¬based deep learning startup Nervana Systems, run by Indian¬origin entrepreneur, Naveen Rao. With this acquisition, Intel will strengthen its reach into Artificial Intelligence.

41. Japan’s approved an economic stimulus package worth 275 billion dollars in attempt to boost growth of world’s third¬largest economy. Japanese government expects that this package will boost gross domestic product (GDP) by 1.3%.

42. Karnataka will host 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBS) 2017 in Bengaluru for 3 days from January 7, 2017. Theme of 2017 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is Redefined Engagement With Indian Diaspora. PBS convention is held on January 9th each year to commemorate return of M K Gandhi from South Africa in 1915.

43. Kerala Tourism started a promotional campaign in Dubai targeting Arab travellers for showcasing state’s backwaters and waterfalls on taxis in Dubai, carrying message A Faraway Land Four Hours Away.

44. Lok Sabha passed Employee’s Compensation (Amendment) Bill 2016, to amend Employee’s Compensation Act, 1923. This law provides payment of compensation to employees in case of injury by industrial accidents. Key Features are ¬ It is Mandatory for employer to inform the employee of his right to compensation. Failing which employer may be penalized between 50000 ¬ 100000.

• Appeals from Commissioner’s order ¬ Any dispute related to employee’s compensation will be heard by a Commissioner (with powers of a civil court) only if amount in dispute is ten thousand rupees. Government may raise this amount.

• Deletion of withholding payments pending appeal provision ¬ Earlier in parent Act, any payments towards employee can be temporarily withheld if an employer has appealed against a Commissioner’s order in High Court. This provision has been deleted.

45. MOU signed between Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) and University of Latvia for establishment of an academic chair in Ayurveda.

46. Major Earthquake hit European Nation Italy.

47. Malaysia enforced a new legislation that grants sweeping powers to its National Security Council (NSC). Powers conferred to Council are ability to take charge of security forces and Declare security areas for up to six months within which authorities can arrest, search or seize without warrants.

48. Microsoft acquired Beam, an interactive livestreaming startup that lets viewers watch and play along with game streamers in real time.

49. Myanmar announced to support for China’s ambitious One Belt and One Road (OBOR) connectivity initiative along ancient Silk Road, during visit of Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi to China.

50. NITI Aayog signed pact with USA Energy Information Administration (EIA) to set up a portal to host all data related to energy

sector in India ¬ oil, gas, coal, solar and thermal energy etc.

51. New Guinness World Record for most robots dancing simultaneously has been set in China where 1,007 robots shimmied in

unison, nearly doubling previous record of 540 robots.

52. New MOU Approved

• MoU with Myanmar in field of Traditional Systems of Medicine.

Agreement and Protocol with Cyprus for Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion.

• Air Services Agreement (ASA) with Fiji.

MoU with South Africa to establish cooperation in Grassroots Innovation.

• Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H) under Ministry of AYUSH and United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) signed MOU for cooperation in Traditional medicine

53. PM Narendra Modi and Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani jointly inaugurated restored Stor Palace in Kabul through tele

conferencing.

So far India has provided over $2 billion into Afghanistan reconstruction projects and humanitarian aid.

54. Report by New World Wealth ¬

India is 7th wealthiest country in world with total individual wealth in approx 5600 Billion USD.

Top 5 Counties ¬ US ( 48900 Billion USD), China (17400 Billion USD), Japan (15100 Billion USD), UK (9200 Billion USD), Germany (9100 Billion USD).

55. Scientists from National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention in Japan detected a rare deep¬Earth

tremor, known as an S (secondary) wave microseism. Microseisms are very faint tremors.

56. Seven Indian companies named in a carbon¬clean list of 200 largest companies worldwide ranked by their total clean¬energy

revenues. The list is topped by Japan's Toyota Motor. Top of Indian companies is Suzlon Energy at 68 rank for its wind farms.

57. Severe tropical typhoon Nida (also known as Cariana in Philippines) made landfall near Dapeng Peninsula in China’s Guangdong

Province, with winds upto 150 KM/HR.

58. Sri Lanka and China signed a tripartite agreement for construction of a Financial City Centre in Colombo.

59. Tata AutoComp Systems acquired leading global engine cooling supplier ¬ TitanX.

60. Toxic gas Di¬ammonium phosphate (DPA) leaked from DAP Fertiliser Company Limited on the bank of Karnaphuli river in Bangladesh, injuring several Hundred people.

61. Turkey launched military operation Euphrates Shield against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) to liberate Syrian city of Jarablus on border Turkish Border.

62. USA Postal Service will commemorate Indian festival of Diwali with a Forever stamp in Oct 2016.

63. USA based pharma major Pfizer acquired biopharmaceutical company Medivation for $ 14 billion.

64. USA declared Pakistan based Jamaat¬ur¬Ahrar (JuA) as a ‘terror group’ by adding it to list of global terrorists.

65. USA will create world’s largest protected marine reserve area named as Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument off the

Hawaiian coast.

66. United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU¬EHS) World Risk Report 2016 (Along with Bundnis Entwicklung Hilft and University of Stuttgart (Germany))¬

The index assessed the risk of disaster in 171 countries through the combined analysis of natural hazards and societal vulnerabilities.

India has been ranked 77th out of 171 countries on World Risk Index 2016.

List is topped by Island state of Vanuatu (Highest risk nation).

Qatar is at 171st Place (Means It is safest in world from natural disasters).

67. World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Cornell University and INSEAD's 2016 Global Innovation Index (GII) (9th report) ¬

Theme of this year’s GII is Winning with global innovation. Report Highlighted European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)'s Innovation Initiatives.

List is topped by Switzerland, followed by Sweden, UK, US, Finland and Singapore.

India is ranked 66 th (Major improvement from 81 in 2015).

Among BRICS ¬ Brazil (69), Russia (43), China (25), South Africa (54).

68. World’s first self¬driving taxi service was launched in Singapore by nuTonomy, an autonomous vehicle software firm. nuTonomy

became entity in world first to offer self¬driving taxi rides to public. Each car is fitted with six sets of Lidar (Light Detection and

Ranging), a detection system that uses lasers to operate like radar that constantly spins on the roof.

69. World’s largest indoor theme park will opened in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) to attractists tourists during scorching heat

of desert summer.

70. World’s longest and highest glass bridge opened to visitors. It is concreted with 99 panes of 3 layer transparent glasses, hanging

between two steep cliffs 300 metres altitude is maintained from the ground. The bridge has set 10 world records spanning its

design and construction.