Current Affairs 30th December 2015

Important Points : 

• Name the Ex Chief of Indian Army who has passed away - General Om Prakash Malhotra
• Which Veteran singer has passed away - Subir Sen
• Who has been selected for the 51st Jnanpith award - Gujarati writer Raghuveer Chaudhary 
• Who has commissioned Prayagraj power project unit - BHEL
• Who has won gold at National Weightlifting Championship - Rakhi Haldar & Kavita Devi 
• Name the founding member of metal band Motorhead who has passed away - Ian Fraser Lemmy Kilmister
• Whose Santa Claus sculpture has been recorded in Limca Book of Records - Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik
• Travel solutions platform SpiceVacations.com launched by - SpiceJet 
• Russia tied up with HAL to manufacture - Kamov 226T helicopters
• Who has been elected as the Prime Minister of Georgia - Giorgi Kvirikashvili
• Who has been elected as first Vice-Chairman of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation - Jetha Bharwad

Details : 

Name the Ex Chief of Indian Army who has passed away - General Om Prakash Malhotra

On 29th December 2015, former Punjab Governor and ex-Chief of Army, General Om Prakash Malhotra passed away at the age of 93. 

From the year 1978 to 1981, he was the 13th Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army.

About General Om Prakash Malhotra

• Between November 1950 and July 1961, he commanded different Artillery Regiments.
• From June 1962, he was the Military Attache at the Indian Embassy in Moscow for over three years.
• From 1981 to 1984,he served as the Ambassador of India to Indonesia.
• In the year 1990, he was appointed as the Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh.
• In the year 1976, he was honoured with the Param Vishsist Seva Medal for his outstanding services to the nation and the Indian Army.

Which Veteran singer has passed away - Subir Sen

On 29th December 2015, Veteran singer Subir Sen passed away at the age of 81. Sen was denounced to be clone of senior and talented Hemant Kumar.

He was famous for his Bengali songs like Saradin tomay cheye, Monalisa tumi ki bolona and Dhoronir pathey pathey.

Aa ja re nain dware from Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja and Main rangeela pyar ka raahi from Chhoti Bahen are some his famous songs.

Who has been selected for the 51st Jnanpith award - Gujarati writer Raghuveer Chaudhary 

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 29th December 2015, Eminent Gujarati litterateur Raghuveer Chaudhary for his contribution to the Indian literature was selected for the 51st Jnanpith award.

Jnanpith Selection Board headed by noted scholar Namwar Singh with the other members including Leeladhar Mandloi, Dinesh Misra, Harish Trivedi, Ramakant Rath, Suranjan Das, Chandrakant Patil, Alok Rai and Shamim Hanfi made this decision.

He is the fourth Gujarati litterateur acheive this honour.

Do You Know : 

• The name Jnanpith is taken from Sanskrit words Jnana and Pitha which means knowledge-seat and is considered as one of the prestigious literary awards in the country.
• It was started in the 1961 and is presented by Bharatiya Jnanpith to the Indian citizen who writes in any 22 official languages of India mentioned in VIII Schedule of Constitution of India.

Who has commissioned Prayagraj power project unit - BHEL

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 29th December 2015, a 660 MW unit of Prayagraj Super Thermal Power Project at Bara in Allahabad district of Uttar Pradesh was commissioned by the State-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL).

Super-critical units are more efficient and eco-friendly as they consume lesser coal.

Prayagraj Power Generation Company Limited (PPGCL), a subsidiary company of Jaiprakash Power Ventures Limited owns this project.

Who has won gold at National Weightlifting Championship - Rakhi Haldar & Kavita Devi 

Among the important Sports Current Affairs, On 29th December 2015, Rakhi Haldar and Kavita Devi bagged gold in different weight categories in the Senior National Weightlifting Championships.

Haldar bagged the gold medal in 119 kilograms in clean and jerk and 94 kilograms in the snatch to come up with a total lift of 213 kilograms in Women's 69 kilograms. 

While, Devi lifted 95 kilograms in snatch and 122 kilograms in clean and jerk for a total of 217 kilograms in Women's 75 kilograms category. 

Apart from this, in Men's 105 kilograms, V A Christopher bagged the gold medal with an overall lift of 329 kilograms.

Name the founding member of metal band Motorhead who has passed away - Ian Fraser Lemmy Kilmister

On 28th December 2015, founding member and singer in the British heavy metal band Motorhead, Ian Fraser Lemmy Kilmister passed away at the age of 70.

About Ian Fraser Lemmy Kilmister

• In 1971, he joined the English psych-rock band Hawkwind. In 19he formed the Motorhead.
• Bad Magic(2015) was his last album.
• He was considered as the godfather for rock n roll endurance and genres like speed metal and thrash.

Whose Santa Claus sculpture has been recorded in Limca Book of Records - Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 29th December 2015, Well-known sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik’s Santa Claus sculpture got recorded in Limca Book of World Records.

On 24th December 2015, he had created a 45 feet high sand Santa Claus at Puri beach which is considered as the largest sand Santa Claus till date.

20 of his students from the Sudarsan Sand Art Institute of Puri had assisted him to build the structure which took 22 hours.

Apart from this, he had also created sculptures of Jesus and Mother Mary.

Travel solutions platform SpiceVacations.com launched by - SpiceJet 

Among the important Bussiness Current Affairs, On 29th December 2015, an end-to-end travel solutions platform, SpiceVacations.com was launched by SpiceJet which will offer customized travel packages to customers.

The special feature of the platforms is that customers, just with a small refundable deposit can book and hold a booking for up to 48 hours.

SpiceJet customers will have to simply decide on the theme of their vacation, like a wildlife tour, honeymoon or pilgrimage.

Russia tied up with HAL to manufacture - Kamov 226T helicopters

Among the important Defence Current Affairs, On 29th December 2015, Russia's Rostech State Corporation partnered with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the manufacturing of least 200 Kamov 226T light helicopters which will replace Chetak and Cheetah.

The estimated cost of the deal is 1 billion US dollars and is considered as the first Russian-Indian high-tech project under the Make in India initiative.

About Kamov 226T

• It is a small, twin-engined Russian utility helicopter.
• It has three variants which are: Ka-226TG, Ka-226T and Ka-226AG.
• Apart from Rolls-Royce 250C engines, Kamov 226T comes with the more powerful Turbomeca Arrius 2G1. 
• It can be equipped with helicopter sling, searchlight, additional external fuel tank and hoist system.

Who has been elected as the Prime Minister of Georgia - Giorgi Kvirikashvili

Among the important International Current Affairs, On 29th December 2015, Giorgi Kvirikashvili was elected as the Prime Minister of Georgia by replacing Minister Irakli Garibashvili.

Out of 114 deputies, Kvirikashvili secured 86 votes of the parliament of Georgia. 

About Giorgi Kvirikashvili

• He worked in the State Office of the Deputy head of the service of fiscal monetary policy and foreign economic relations since 1999. 
• He was appointed as the Foreign Minister of Georgia in September 2015.
• From 2006 to 2011, he had served as Director General of Cartu Bank. 
• He was appointed to the post of Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development in October 2012 parliamentary elections.

Who has been elected as first Vice-Chairman of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation - Jetha Bharwad

Among the important appointments, On 29th December 2015, Senior BJP MLA, Jetha Bharwad was unanimously elected as the first Vice-Chairman of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF).

Bharwad is also the chairman of Panchmahal District Cooperative Milk Producers Union Ltd.

This is for the first time that GCMMF created the post of Vice-Chairman By amending their by-laws since its inception in 1973. 

Do You Know : 

• GCMMF hass an annual turnover of 21000 crore rupees and is considered as India's largest food products marketing organisation.
• At present, Chairman of the Sabar Dairy, Jethabhai Patel is the chairman of GCMMF.