Current Affairs 18th December 2015

Important Points :

• Name the Veteran Communist leader who has passed away - Noorul Huda 
• Who has resigned from the Jet Airways - Chief Executive Officer Cramer Ball
• Sahitya Akademi awards announced
• Who has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Tata Starbucks - Sumi Ghosh 
• CII Industrial Innovation Awards 2015 conferred upon - 35 companies
• Who has adopted resolution to cut-off supply of funds to ISIS group - UN Security Council
• To acquire Indulekha agreement was signed between - Hindustan Unilever & Mosons Group 
• CII-ITC Sustainability Awards 2015 for Excellence in Sustainable Business
• Who has approved Afghanistan’s membership terms to join as 163rd member - WTO

Details : 

Name the Veteran Communist leader who has passed away - Noorul Huda 

On 17th December 2015, leader of Communist Party of eastern India, Noorul Huda passed away in Kolkata at the age of 86. 

From 1978 to 1983, he was the member of the Assam State Assembly. He is the member of the Central Committee(CC) of the CPI (M) for almost 30 years.

Do You Know : 

• In the year 1949, after giving up his job as an engineer, Huda joined the Communist Party of India (CPI-M). 
• In the year 1967, Huda became the member of Central Kisan Council and continued to this position till he passed away.

Who has resigned from the Jet Airways - Chief Executive Officer Cramer Ball

On 17th December 2015, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Jet Airways, Cramer Ball has resigned from the post which will be effective from 29th February 2016.

After his resignation, Jet's director Gaurang Shetty will hold the post of CEO of the airlines company.

On 17th December 2015, Italian airline Alitalia announced the appointment of Ball as its new CEO.

About Cramer Ball

• He has spent more than 2 decades in the Aviation industry.
• Earlier, he was the regional general manager for the Abu Dhabi-based carrier and after that he joined Air Seychelles as its CEO.

Sahitya Akademi awards announced

On 17th December 2015, Sahitya Akademi Awards for the year 2015 in 23 languages were announced by the Sahitya Akademi. 

Author selected who is awarded are for a book on memoirs : 

• Arun Khopkar - For Chalat Chitravyooh in Marathi

Poets who were awarded are :

• Ramdarash Mishra - For Aag Ki Hansi in Hindi
• Brajendra Kumar Brahma - For Baidi Dengkhw Baidi Gab in Bodo
• Kshetri Ranjen - For Ahingna Yekshilliba Mang in Manipuri
• KV Tirumalesh - For Akshaya Kavya in Kannada
• Dhian Singh - For Parchhamen Di Lo in Dogri
• Ram Shankar Awasthi - For Vanadevi (an epic) in Sanskrit

Play Writers who were awarded are : 

• Rabilal Tudu - For Parsi Khatir in Santhali
• Uday Bhembre - For Karna Parva in Konkani

Authors of Books on Criticism who were awarded are :

• Bashir Bhadarwahi - For Jamis Ta Kasheeri Manz Kashir Natia Adabuk Tawareekh in Kashmiri
• Shamim Tariq - For Tasawwuf Aur Bhakti Tanqeedi Aur Taqabuli Mutalea in Urdu

Authors of Short Stories who were awarded are : 

• Maya Rahi - For Mahengi Murk in Sindhi
• Kula Saikia - For Akashar Chhabi Aru Anyanya Galpa in Assamese
• Gupta Pradhan - For Samayaka Prativimbaharu in Nepali
• Bibhuti Pattanaik - For Mahishasurara Muhan in Odia
• Volga - For Vimuktha in Telugu
• Man Mohan Jha - For Khissa in Maithili

Novelists who were awarded are :

• KR Meera - For Aarachar in Malayalam
• Jaswinder Singh - For Maat Lok in Punjabi
• Cyrus Mistry - For Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer in English
• Madhu Acharya ‘Ashawadi’ - For Gawaad in Rajasthani

Essayists who were awarded are : 

• Rasik Shah - For Antey Aarambh (Part I&II) in Gujarati
• A Madhavan - For IIakkiya Suvadugal in Tamil

Who has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Tata Starbucks - Sumi Ghosh 

On 17th December 2015, Sumi Ghosh was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tata Starbucks.

Earlier to this appointment, she served as the vice president of Starbucks for the US mid-west region. 

Do You Know : 

Tata Global Beverages and Starbucks Corporation, that owns and operates Starbucks outlets in India jointly run the Tata Starbucks Limited.

CII Industrial Innovation Awards 2015 conferred upon - 35 companies

On 15th December 2015, Industrial Innovation Awards 2015 was conferred upon 35 companies by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). 

The top award in the start-up category was won by Delhi-based start-up Right Track Admizzionz Campuz, while the Most Innovative Company of the Year was won by the pharma major Zydus Cadila.

Top 10 Start-up Awardees

• Capital Numbers Infotech Pvt. Ltd.
• AIDAIO Software Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
• Right Track Admizzionz Campuz Pvt. Ltd.
• Finmart Advisory Pvt. Ltd.
• GT Silicon Pvt. Ltd.
• Ananya Seeds Pvt. Ltd.
• Yoma Multinational Solutions
• Casa Brands India Pvt. Ltd.
• Cyborg Cyber Forensics & Information Security Pvt. Ltd.
• Feel Good Design

Special category awards

• Best Start-up in Service category – Right Track Admizzionz Campuz Pvt. Ltd.
• Award for Manufacturing sector – Large enterprises (Uflex Ltd.)
• Best Start-up in Manufacturing category – Ananya Seeds Pvt. Ltd.
• Award for Manufacturing sector –Micro & Small enterprises (CoreEL Technologies (I) Pvt. Ltd.)
• Award for Service sector Large enterprise – Robert Bosch Engineering & Business Solutions Pvt. Ltd
• Award for Manufacturing sector – Large enterprises (Zydus Cadila)

Do You Know : 

CII Industrial Innovation Awards were started in 2014 by CII to identify and celebrate innovative Indian enterprises. 

Who has adopted resolution to cut-off supply of funds to ISIS group - UN Security Council

On 17th December 2015, resolution to increase sanctions against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq (ISIS) group and other terrorist groups was adopted unanimously by the UN Security Council (UNSC). 

The decision was made at the first-ever meeting of Finance Ministers of the UNSC chaired by Treasury Secretary Jack Lew of the United States.

Few facts of the Resolution are 

• Financing of ISIS will be treated as a serious criminal offence and the law will be made by the governments.
• Member states are asked to intensify the vigilance by the persons within their jurisdiction to observe any deflection of explosives and raw materials and components that can be used to manufacture improvised explosive devices.

To acquire Indulekha agreement was signed between - Hindustan Unilever & Mosons Group 

On 17th December 2015, Hindustan Unilever (HUL) inked an agreement with Mosons Group for the acquisition of its flagship brand Indulekha.

Highlights of the deal

• It comprise of the acquisition of the trademarks Indulekha and Vayodha.
• Till the completion of the transaction, Mosons will continue to manage the business.

CII-ITC Sustainability Awards 2015 for Excellence in Sustainable Business

On 15th December 2015, The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)-ITC Awards 2015 for Excellence in Sustainable Business were conferred on 26 awardees in 4 main categories and 9 sub categories in New Delhi.

The Union Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu was the special guest at the award presentation ceremony.

Who has approved Afghanistan’s membership terms to join as 163rd member - WTO

On 17th December 2015, Afghanistan’s WTO membership at the WTO’s Tenth Ministerial Conference (MC10) in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya was approved by World Trade Organisation (WTO) to become the 163rd WTO member and the ninth least-developed country to become a WTO member since the organization was established in 1995.

Director General Roberto Azevedo and Afghanistan’s First Deputy Chief Executive Mohammad Khan Rahmani signed the Protocol of Accession (PoA).