Current Affairs for 16 to 22 December 2017

Current Affairs for 16 Dec to 22 Dec 2017

National Commission for Minorities has set up a three member committee, led by the commission's Vice Chairman George Kurien, to look into whether Hindus should get minority status in seven states and a Union Territory where they are not the dominant religious group.
India successfully test-fired its superson-ic surface-to-air missile Akash with indigenous radio frequency seeker from a test range in Odisha. The state-of-the-art indigenous missile targeting an UAV 'Banshee', was fired from the launch complex-III of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near Balasore.
Navy Day was observed on 4 December to celebrate the Indian Navy's achieve-ments and commemorate the sacrifices made by its personnel. The date com-memorates the launch of Operation Trident, a devastating attack on the Pak-istan Naval Headquarters of Karachi during the 1971 war against Pakistan.
India joined the Wassenaar Arrangement after com-pleting the internal procedures. The membership will facilitate high-technology tie-ups for country's defence and space programmes. India has become the arrangement's 42nd participating State. In a tweet, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has thanked all the 41 Wassenaar Arrangement member states for their support.
Hyderabad is all set to be a home for world's first Information Technology campus for persons with disabilities (PWDs). On the eve of World Disability Day, the State government entered into an agreement with Vindhya E-Infome-dia Private Limited to set up the IT campus which will focus on creating employ-ment exclusively for PWDs.
Shashi Kapoor, a leading Bollywood actor and producer from the 1970s and '80s, died after a long illness. He was 79. Born on March 18, 1938, to the illustrious and formi-dable theatre and film actor Prithviraj Kapoor, he was honoured with Padma Bhushan in 2011 and received the presti-gious Dada Saheb Phalke Award in 2015.
With 19 countries ratifying its framework agree-ment, the International Solar Alliance (ISA) became the first treaty-based international government organisation to be based in India. This marks the culmination of India's efforts, which had taken a lead role in setting up the ISA-an alliance of 121 sunshine countries situated between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.
In Hockey, India lost to Rio Olympics Gold medalists Argentina, 1-0 in the first semi-final of the World League Final at Bhubaneswar.
India bagged five medals on the opening day of the 10th Asian Airgun Shooting Championships at Wako, Japan. Ravi Kumar won the Bronze in the Men's 10 metre air rifle individual event, while Arjun Babuta won the Silver in the corresponding junior event. India also clinched three team silver medals in each of the three air rifle events.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation's former Chairman, D K Sarraf, as the new Chairman of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board.
World Soil Day (WSD) was observed on December 5, 2017. The Day is held annual-ly as a means to focus attention on the importance of healthy soil and advocating for the sustainable management of soil resources. An international day to celebrate Soil was recommended by the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) in 2002.
International Day of Persons with Disabilities was observed on 3 December. It aims to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabil-ities in all spheres of society and development, and to increase awareness of the situation of persons with disabilities in every aspect of politi-cal, social, economic and cultural life.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani inaugurat-ed the first phase of Chabahar Port. India's Minister of State for Shipping Pon Radhakr-ishnan represented New Delhi at the inaugu-ration ceremony. Afghanistan, Iran and India have reiterated their resolve for earliest com-pletion of the strategic Chabahar Port that allows these countries, the landlocked Afghanistan in particular, to bypass Pakistan while conducting bilateral trade.