- The United Nations’ (UN) International Human Solidarity Day is celebrated on December 20 every year since 2006 to celebrate unity in diversity.
- India has been ranked as the No.1 team in the ICC Test Championship after posting a4-0 wins over England in the five-match series, which ended with an innings and 75 runs victory in Chennai on December 20, 2016.
- A free instant messaging service for work and business environments, Flock has launched world’s first chat operating system”FlockOS” by Bhavin Turakhia, Flock CEO on December 20, 2016
- China on December 20, 2016, commissioned its first seven-tonne helicopter, to mark a new development in the China’s helicopter industry, the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).
- The Government has revised North East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy (NEIIP), 2007 to stipulate mandatory disbursal of subsidies to all industrial units in northeast through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mechanism by Chief Controller of Accounts (Industry).
- Iran has finalized an agreement with Airbus to acquire 100 jetliners. The timing of the first delivery of the Airbus A321 is expected to arrive before the January 20.
- India has been ranked 4th in the Global Wind Power Installed Capacity index afterChina, USA and Germany with cumulative installed wind power generation capacity of 28,279 MW in 2016.
- India has signed an Open Skies Agreement with six countries at the International Civil Aviation Negotiations (ICAN), 2016 which were held in Nassau, Bahamas from December 5-9, 2016.
- As per a study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) survey of 33 countries, the developing African nation is developing a deadly lifestyle disease owing to modern city life and bad habits.
- Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh launched India’s first cashless bazaar inRaipur on December 19, 2016
- The 12-foot-tall stone statue of renowned Tamil poet and philosopher-saintThiruvalluvar was inaugurated at Mela Bhawan premises in Haridwar, Uttarakhand by Chief minister Harish Rawat on December 19, 2016.
- The Madras High Court on December 19, 2016 declared a ban on all unauthorised‘Sharia’ courts functioning on premises of mosques in Tamil Nadu, to safeguard the interests of a large number of innocent Muslims whose fate was being decided by such illegal Sharia courts and councils in the state.
- The ninth edition of World Confluence of Humanity, Power and Spirituality,organised by ASSOCHAM in association with Srei Foundation and Times Foundationwas held in New Delhi from December 16- December 17, 2016.The theme of the convention was “Sach Bharat: Spirituality at Work”
- According to a report published in Forbes magazine, India has overtaken United Kingdom in terms of the size of the economy, first time in 150 years.
- PrivatBank, Ukraine’s largest private bank, was nationalized by the Government of Ukriane on December 18, after being declared insolvent by the National Bank of Ukraine.
- Weeks after demonetization of high currency notes in India, Pakistan’s Senate on December 19, 2016, passed a resolution to withdraw high denomination Rs 5,000 currency notes to curb the flow of black money in the country.
- The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare lead by Jagat Prakash Nadda has won gold in the Web Ratna category in the Digital India awards 2016.
- According to a World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature report published on December 19, 2016, scientists have discovered 163 new species in the Greater Mekong.
- A 60,000 square kilometres‘ dead zone’ was founded in the Bay of Bengal by Researchers from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research’s National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) in Goa
- Veteran Malayalam Film and Television actor K N Jagannatha Varma passed away at Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala on December 20, 2016. He was 77.
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