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- Scientists from the National Institute of Oceanography have discovered that a huge dead zone exists in the Bay of Bengal. This area is reported to contain little or no oxygen and is estimated to be around 60000 sq. km.
- The Pakistan Senate has passed a resolution seeking to withdraw high denomination Rs. 5000 currency notes in order to block the flow of black money in the nation.
Nirbhay - The Madras High Court has banned the unauthorised functioning of Sharia courts in Tamil Nadu after a man claimed to have been forced by one such court to divorce his wife.
- A high-level inter-ministerial task force was formed to look into the strategic aspects of the Indus Water Treaty in Pakistan. It will be headed by Nripendra Mishra, who is the Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
- The National Security Guard (NSG) might participate in the Republic Day parade for the first time. This Special Forces unit is also known as “black cat commandos”. The only commando force that participates in the parade until now has been the troops of Army’s Special Forces.
- Anupam Mishra, a renowned environmentalist known for his work on water conversation Aaj Bhi Khare Hain Talab served to increase the imagination of the common people on this subject.
- The Union Government released 450 crore rupees to Telangana for development of backward areas in the state for the year 2016-17.
- The US Electoral College has formally elected Donald Trump as the President of the United States of America. He was able to secure the 270 votes needed in order to formalise his victory. In the end, he secured 304 electoral votes while his opponent Hillary Clinton garnered 227 votes.
- In the Global Wind Power Installed Capacity Index, India ranked 4th and its cumulative installed wind power generation capacity is 25088 mega-watts. China topped the list, followed by USA.
- The last letter of Queen Victoria to India was put on display at the Victoria Memorial in Kolkata. It dates back to 14th December 1900 and was addressed to the then-Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon.
- The International Boxing Association (AIBA) has granted full-membership to the Boxing Federation of India (BFI), which is affiliated to the Sports Ministry of India. The erstwhile Indian Amateur Boxing Federation was suspended and was terminated in 2012 after it was reported that there was a possibility that the elections had been manipulated.
- Surreal is the Word of the Year for 2016 as per the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary after there was a major spike in usage of this word at the time of the Brussels terror attacks, the Turkey coup attempt, the Nice terror attack and most remarkably during the US elections of 2016.
- The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change notified the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2016 replacing the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rule, 2010 in order to comprehensively address conservation issues.
- Nirbhay, a long range nuclear-capable subsonic cruise missile was test-fired from Integrated Missile Test Range in Balasore, Odisha. It has a strike range of 700 km to 1000 km.
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