The Daily Brief – 5th January, 2017

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• Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, the seniormost judge of the Supreme Court, was sworn in as the 44th Chief Justice of India by President Pranab Mukherjee. Justice Khehar will have a tenure for over seven months till August 28, 2017. He assumed office as a judge of the Supreme Court on September 13, 2011.
• The Supreme Court has asked Karnataka to continue releasing 2,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to neighbouring Tamil Nadu, while posting appeals filed by Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala against the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal’s decision on water-sharing for day-to-day hearing.
• A new hurdle has come into play for the country’s first river interlinking project seeking to link the Ken and Betwa rivers. The NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) has recommended that Madhya Pradesh contribute 40 per cent of the project cost, with the Centre contributing 60 per cent. The Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) has opposed this and requested that 90 per cent of the funds be routed through the Centre. Lack of clarity in funding forecasts greater delays in the project.
• The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has issued a consultation paper on the issue of net-neutrality as it looked to formulate “final views on policy or regulatory interventions” on the subject. TRAI has sought comments on what the principles for ensuring non-discriminatory access to content on the Internet could be in the Indian context and as to how Internet traffic and providers of Internet services should be understood in the context of net neutrality.
• Researchers at IIT-Guwahati have discovered a thumb imprint test to check for excess levels of bilirubin in the blood. Increased bilirubin is an indicator of jaundice, and causes the yellow colouration peculiar to the disease.

• Mahendra Singh Dhoni informed the BCCI that he would step down as the captain of the Indian cricket team for one-day internationals and T20 International formats of the game. The dashing wicket-keeper-batsman led India to a memorable triumph at the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa in 2007 and thereafter at the ICC Cricket World Cup in India in 2011. 
• India outplayed Bangladesh to win the SAFF women’s football tournament, and continue its domination in the region with a fourth consecutive win.
• A civil society panel appointed by Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has endorsed the UNHRC call for including international judges to probe war crimes allegations. In sharp variance with the government’s stand, the task force report recommends the setting up of a special court and office of special counsel; the court shall ensure that there will be a majority of national judges and at least one international judge on every bench.

• The European Space Agency released stunning images of baby stars taking shape inside the Milky Way’s Orion nebula. Also known as Messier 42, the Orion nebula is some 1,350 light years from Earth, and has a mass 2,000 times greater that the Sun. A nebula is a widely scattered cloud of interstellar gas and dust. (CLAT probably won’t question you on this, but hey, look how cooool!)

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