Current Affairs 2nd January 2016

Important Points : 

• Who has been conferred with 2015 Sangita Kalanidhi award - Vocalist Sanjay Subrahmanyam 
• Who has been appointed as Director General of Police of UP - Javed Ahmed
• Name the Grammy-winning singer who has passed away - Natalie Cole
• Union Government to fund education of minorities has signed Financing Agreement with - World Bank 
• Name the committee formed by the Union Government to rebuild Censor Board - Shyam Benegal Committee 

Details : 

Who has been conferred with 2015 Sangita Kalanidhi award - Vocalist Sanjay Subrahmanyam 

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 1st January 2016, the 2015 Sangita Kalanidhi award was conferred to Veteran South Indian classical vocalists Sanjay Subrahmanyam. Mathematician Manjul Bhargava presented him with the award at the 89th annual conference of the Madras Music Academy in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

About Sanjay Subrahmanyam 

• In the year 1987, he started performing Carnatic music 
• Earlier he has been awarded with various awards for his work which include : the title Kalaimamani by Tamil Nadu Government (2006), Vani Kala Sudhakara (2010) and Gaana Padhmam (2013). 

Do You Know : 

Madras Music Academy present this award annually to an expert of Carnatic Music. 

Who has been appointed as Director General of Police of UP - Javed Ahmed

Among the important appointments, On 1st January 2016, Javed Ahmed was appointed as Director General of Police (DGP) of Uttar Pradesh. He has replaced Jagmohan Yadav from the post.

About Javed Ahmed

• He is a Indian Police Service officer of 1984 batch.
• Earlier to this, he was serving as the Director General of Railways.
• During Central Deputation he had served as the joint director of the CBI.

Name the Grammy-winning singer who has passed away - Natalie Cole

On 31st December 2015, Grammy-winning singer Natalie Cole passed away at the age of 65.

About Natalie Cole

• In the year 1975, she started her career in singing with the hit This Will Be, for which she won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist and the Grammy Award for best R&B female performance.
• In 1991, she became the superstar when she came up with her song Unforgettable ... With Love.
• In 2008, she won another Grammy Award for album Still Unforgettable.

Union Government to fund education of minorities has signed Financing Agreement with - World Bank 

On 1st January 2016, for Nai Manzil Scheme- Education and Skills Training for Minorities, a Financing Agreement of 50 million US dollars was inked between the Union Government and the World Bank.

Michael Haney, World Bank’s Operations Adviser in India and Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affair (DEA) on behalf of the Union Government signed the Financing Agreement.

About Nai Manzil Scheme 

• On 8th August 2015, the scheme was launched in Patna.
• The aim of the scheme is to fulfill educational and livelihood needs of minority communities. 
• People in between 17 to 35 age group will be covered in the scheme. 
• The main beneficiaries of the scheme will be Minority BPL (below poverty line) youth in the age group of 17-35 years.

 Name the committee formed by the Union Government to rebuild Censor Board - Shyam Benegal Committee 

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 1st January 2016, Shyam Benegal Committee has been constituted by the Union Government for universal interpretation of the provisions of the Cinematograph Act, 1952. 

Shyam Benegal, noted film-maker will be head of this committee while other members include Joint Secretary (Films) as Member Convenor, Piyush Pandey, Nina Lath Gupta, Bhawana Somaaya and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra,. 

Terms of Reference of the Committee

• Under the provisions of the Cinematograph Act, 1952, the committee will recommend broad guidelines for the welfare of the members of the Screening Committee and its chairperson. 
• The committee is also responsible for the staffing pattern of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to suggest a framework which would provide transparent user friendly services. 
• By March 2016, the Committee has to submit its recommendations.