Persons in News - December 2014 PDF

Friends.. We are very excited in hearing your review on Persons in News- January 2015. Many of you have requested us to update similar article in respect of December 2014 also. He is it. You can download this as PDF from the print friendly button below. If there is any error please bring it to our notice. Enjoy Reading!!! 

* Taijul Islam - Bangladesh Cricketer, became the first bowler in history to claim a hat-trick on his debut in one-day cricket.

* Anil Kumar Sinha - Appointed the new CBI Director to succeed Ranjit Sinha.

* Deven Verma - Veteran Hindi film and television actor, he passed away.

* Niranjan Jyoti - Union Minister of state for food processing industries, made controversial communal remarks.

* S Ravi - Indian umpire, included in 25-member list for ICC World Cup.

* V R Krishna Iyer - Eminent jurist, he passed away.

* Ajit Seth -  He got six-month extension as Cabinet secretary.

* Narendra Modi - He was named 'Asian of the Year' by Singapore daily, The Straits Times. He also won TIME readers’ poll for ‘Person of the Year’.

* Mohammad Hafeez - Pakistan cricket, suspended by the ICC after his bowling action was found to be illegal.

* Ramalinga Raju - Satyam founder, he gets 6-month imprionment.

* Mukesh Ambani - He was featured amongst the most searched personalities online in 2014.

* Ebola fighters - Named Time magazine Person of the Year 2014.

* Kailash Satyarthi & Malala Yousafzai - They received the Nobel Peace Prize for 2014 for their pioneering work on promoting child rights in the subcontinent.

* Sarita Devi - She received her Asian Games bronze medal which she had refused at the victory ceremony in Incheon Asian Games. She was also given a one-year ban by International Boxing Association (AIBA) for this incident.

* Ricky Ponting - Appointed head coach of Indian Premier League team Mumbai Indians.

* Richard Rahul Verma - Indian-American, he was appointed US Ambassador to India.

* Vladimir Putin - Russian President, he visited India for India-Russia annual bilateral summit.

* Virat Kohli - He became the third cricket player in Test match history to score a century on his debut as captain. Also he became second player to score twin centuries on his captaincy debut.

* Ding Junhui - Chinese Snooker Player, he became the first Asian player to take the world number one snooker ranking.

* Madan Mitra - West Bengal transport minister, he was arrested in Saradha scam.

* Arunima Sinha - First female amputee to climb Mount Everest. Her book “Born Again on the Mountain“ launched by PM Narendra Modi.

* Pawan Chamling - Sikkim Chief Minister, he completed 20 years in office as CM.

* Dineshwar Sharma - Appointed as Director of Intelligence Bureau.

* Asha Bhosle - She received Lifetime Achievement Award at Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF).

* Salman Khan - Became the richest Indian celebrity in forbes list.

* Mehdi Masroor Biswas - Bengaluru-based techie, he was arrested for ISIS twitter account handling.

* Shinzo Abe - He was re-elected as Japan Prime Minister.

* Rolene Strauss - She won the Miss World 2014 beauty pageant.

* Aishwarya Rai Bachchan - She was felicitated by the Miss World Organisation at the 64th edition of the international beauty pageant for her commitment to "beauty with a purpose".

* Shriti Vadera - Indian-origin, she was appointed as chairman of Santander UK, becoming the first woman to head a major British bank.

* Jairam Ramesh - Former Union Minister, he was named member of board providing policy advice to UNEP.

* Anerood Jugnauth - He was named Mauritius Prime Minister.

* Steven Smith - He was appointed as the new Australian Test Cricket Captain.

* Viswanathan Anand - He beats Michael Adams to win London Classic.

* Lewis Hamilton - He won BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2014.

* Vivek Murthy - Indian-American physician, he was confirmed as the 19th Surgeon General of America by U.S. Senate.

* Amit Priyavadan Mehta - Indian-American, he was confirmed as a Federal judge by the US Senate.

* Jacqueline Fernandez and KS Radhakrishnan - Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez and former Supreme Court judge KS Radhakrishnan have been given PETA India’s People of the Year award.

* Serena Williams & Novak Djokovic - They were named as men's and women's World Champions for 2014 by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

* R K Srivastava - He appointed as the new chairman of Airports Authority of India (AAI).

* Eoin Morgan - He has replaced Alastair Cook as England's World Cup captain.

* Jyotsna Suri - Chairperson of Bharat Hotels Ltd, she took over as the president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of commerce & Industry (FICCI).

* Jason Holder - He has replaced Dwayne Bravo as West Indies' ODI captain.

* Napoleon - Former Union minister, he joined BJP.

* Sachin Tendulkar - He was named ambassador for 2015 ICC World Cup.

* Beji Caid Essebsi - He was elected as the President of Tunisia.

* Shiva Keshavan - He won a silver at the 17th Asian Luge Championships in Nagano, Japan.

* Klaus Iohannis - He has sworn in as Romania’s new president.

* K Balachander - Acclaimed filmmaker from Tamil Nadu, he passed away.

* Atal Bihari Vajpayee & Madan Mohan Malviya - Both were awarded Bhart Ratna.

* S Bhattacharya - Appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director of Coal India Ltd.

* Dr. K. Radhakrishnan - Former ISRO Chairman, named one of the 2014 top ten scientists chosen by the prestigious journal Nature.

* Amitabh Bachchan - He was honoured with Yash Chopra Memorial Award.

* Cristiano Ronaldo - He was voted as the number one footballer in the world.

* Mahendra Singh Dhoni - He broke the world record for most number of stumpings in international cricket. He also surprised the cricket world with his sudden announcement of immediate retirement from Test cricket.

* Pragyan Ojha - He was banned by BCCI from bowling due to illegal action.

* Sunil Chhetri - He was named All India Football Federation (AIFF) Player of the Year.

* Ankita Raina - She won maiden USD 25,000 ITF singles title.

* Raghubar Das - He has sworn-in as the new Chief Minister of Jharkhand and thus becoming the first non-tribal leader to rule the state.

* Dav Whatmore - He was appointed new Zimbabwe cricket coach.

* B G Verghese - Noted journalist, he passed away.

* Aziz Qureshi - Uttarakhand Governor, he was transferred to Mizoram.

* Saiyid Hamid - Noted educationist and former vice chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University, he passed away.

* Madhu Kaithapram - Malayalam filmmaker, he passed away.

* M Sathiyavathy - She became the first woman to be appointed as Director General director general of civil aviation (DGCA).

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Complete Current Affairs PDF - December 2014

Friends.. Here is the complete Current Affairs PDF of December 2014. We have covered almost all the important happenings during December 2014 in this PDF. We have already published the Current Affairs Question Bank of Dec 2014 a few days ago. Hope you all downloaded that. (In case you missed, Click Here to Download Question Bank). Do comment your suggestions/feedback for further improvement. Thank you all once gain for the support.

Some Important happening during December 2014 were:

--> Anil Kumar Sinha appointed as the new CBI Director.

--> Narendra Modi named as the Asian of the Year 2014 by The Straits Times.

--> National Good Governance Day observed.

--> Ebola fighters named as the TIME’s Person of the Year 2014.

--> Indian Blind Cricket team won the fourth edition of the Blind Cricket World Cup (BCWC) 2014.

--> Richard Rahul Verma became the first Indian-American to be appointed as US Ambassador to India.

--> Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai received Nobel Peace Prize 2014 at Oslo.

--> Section 309 removed decriminalizing attempt to suicide.

--> ICICI Bank launched India’s first credit card with a unique transparent design and a distinctive look.

--> Indian Communication Satellite GSAT-16 launched successfully from Kourou space port in French Guiana.

--> David Warner completed 1000 Test runs in 2014, becoming the first opener to achieve the feat in one calendar year.

--> International Anti-Corruption Day onserved on 9 December.

--> Asha Bhosle awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 11th Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF).

--> Rolene Strauss crowned Miss World 2014.

--> Germany won Hockey’s Champions Trophy 2014 held in Bhubaneswar, India.

--> Pawan Chamling, Sikkim Chief Minister became longest serving Chief Minister of India.
--> National Consumers Right Day was observed on 24 December

--> Dineshwar Sharma appointed as Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB).

--> HDFC Bank launched its mobile banking facility named Bank Aap Ki Muththi Mein.

--> Tehreek-e-Taliban carried out a massacre in the Army-run school in Peshawar, Pakistan.

--> India’s heaviest rocket GSLV Mark-III-X launched.

--> Book tittled "Born Again on the Mountain" by Arunima Sinha released.

--> Shinzo Abe elected Japan Prime Minister.

--> Vinicius and Tom named mascot of Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympics Games respectively.

--> Tashi Malik and Nungshi Malik became the world’s first twin and sibling to climb the highest peaks of the seven continents.

--> Amitabh Bachchan honoured with the Yash Chopra Memorial Award.

--> India won the Men and Women title of Kabaddi World Cup 2014.

--> Jyotsna Suri elected as the President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).

--> Sachin Tendulkar appointed as the ambassador of Cricket World Cup 2015.

--> RBI extended the deadline for exchanging pre-2005 of various denominations to 30 June 2015.

--> Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpee and freedom fighter Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya (posthumously) were selected for Bharat Ratna.

--> S Bhattacharya appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Coal India Ltd (CIL).

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Current Affairs December 2014 PDF- Fourth Week

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1) Union Government observed 25 December 2014 as Good Governance Day on the birthday of?

Ans. Atal Bihari Vajpayee

2) Who was honoured with the Yash Chopra Memorial Award on 23 December 2014?

Ans. Amitabh Bachchan

3) India on 20 December 2014 won the Men and Women title of Kabaddi World Cup 2014. Where was the event held?

Ans. Jalandhar, Punjab, India.

4) Who was elected as the President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) on 20 December 2014?

Ans. Jyotsna Suri, Chairperson of Bharat Hotels

5) Who was recently appointed as the ambassador of Cricket World Cup 2015?

Ans. Sachin Tendulkar

6) Who was on 19 December 2014 appointed as the Chairman of the reconstituted Indian Banks’ Association committee on Member Private Sector Banks for 2014-15?

Ans. Shyam Srinivasan

Note: He is the CEO of Federal Bank.

7) Which section of Indian Penal Code (IPC) was in news recently as Union Home Ministry decided to remove this Section, thus decriminalizing attempt to suicide?

Ans. Section 309

8) Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 23 December 2014 extended the deadline for exchanging pre-2005 of various denominations to?

Ans. 30 June 2015

9) Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpee and freedom fighter Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya (posthumously) were selected for Bharat Ratna recently. In which year Bharat Ratna was instituted?

Ans. 1954

10) National Consumers Right Day was observed across India on? - 24 December

11) National Mathematics Day was celebrated on 22 December every year on whose birthday?

Ans. Srinivasa Ramanujan

12) India on 20 December 2014 exported CGS Barracuda offshore patrol vessel (OPV) to which country?

Ans. Mauritius

Note: This is the first warship ordered by a foreign country from shipyard of India.

13) Name the Mission launched by Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on 25 December 2014 to achieve full immunization coverage for all children by 2020?

Ans. Indradhanush

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14) Which country recently successfully test-launched Angara-A5 rocket?

Ans. Russia

15) Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) on 22 December 2014 bagged a 16.96 million Euro contract for a thermal power project in which country?

Ans. Turkey

16) Union Government recently released Calendar for the year 2015 with the theme?

Ans. Clean India Green India

17) Which was named as the most important scientific Breakthrough of the Year 2014 by Science journal recently?

Ans. European space mission Rosetta

18) Union Ministry of Home Affairs on 23 December 2014 set up a committee to examine the possibility of constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for reinvestigation of the 1984 anti-Sikh riot cases. Who will head the committe?

Ans. former Supreme Court Judge Justice (retired) G.P. Mathur.

19) Who was appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Coal India Ltd (CIL) on 23 December 2014?

Ans. S Bhattacharya

20) Which country won Gold in World Youth Under-16 Chess Olympiad on 22 December 2014?

Ans. India

Note: Event was held at Gyor, Hungary.

21) Union Cabinet on 23 December 2014 approved promulgation of an Ordinance to hike Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap in the insurance sector to?

Ans. 49 percent

22) Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 22 December 2014 licensed which subsidiary of Ford Motor Credit Company to operate as a non-banking financial company (NBFC) in India?

Ans. Ford Credit India

23) Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) on 19 December 2014 has partnered with which company to transform Surat into a smart city?

Ans. Microsoft India

24) Book titled Why I Assassinated Gandhi written by Nathuram Godse and Gopal Godse was in news in during December 2014 for what?

Ans. First revised edition of book was published by Delhi-based Farsight Publishers and Distributors.

25) Which country on 23 December 2014 launched its largest ever missile warship named Tuo Chiang?

Ans. Taiwan

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Current Affairs Questions in PDF Format: December 2014

Friends.. at the outset let's thank you all for the enthusiasm you have shown to our first current affairs questions bank for November 2014 uploaded last month. We are very much proud in announcing that many current affairs questions asked in various bank/insurance exams and other competitive exams held during December month came from our question bank. Here in this post we are providing you with the Current Affairs Question format of December 2014. Many exams are upcoming & we are very much sure that this is going to be a handy reference for Current Affairs. You can download this as PDF from the below link. All the Best. Do comment your suggestions & feedback which is our backbone. Thank you all once again.

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December 2014 Current Affairs PDF: Third Week

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1) Who was crowned Miss World 2014?

Ans. Rolene Strauss

Note: She was Miss South Africa. The final of the beauty pageant was held in London, UK. Miss Hungary, Edina Kulcsar, was the runner-up and Miss United States, Elizabeth Safrit, came third.

2) Which country won Hockey’s Champions Trophy 2014?

Ans. Germany

Note: In the final match played at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, Olympic Champions Germany defeated Pakistan by 2-0 margin.

3) Who became longest serving Chief Minister of India on 12 December 2014?

Ans. Pawan Chamling, Sikkim Chief Minister

Note: He completed his 20 years in the office on 12 December 2014. Earlier, the longest serving CM was late Communist leader Jyoti Basu who was chief minister of West Bengal.

4) Who was appointed as Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) on 13 December 2014?

Ans. Dineshwar Sharma

5) Which bank on 16 December 2014 launched its mobile banking facility named Bank Aap Ki Muththi Mein?

Ans. HDFC Bank

6) Which terrorist group on 16 December 2014 carried out a massacre in the Army-run school in Peshawar, Pakistan?

Ans. Tehreek-e-Taliban

7) Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 15 December 2014 increased RTGS (real time gross settlement) business hours from 7.30 hours to 12 hours. What is the revised timing now?

Ans. 8 am to 8 pm on weekdays.

Note: Earlier it was 9 am to 4.30 pm.

8) Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched India’s heaviest rocket named ___ carrying Crew module Atmospheric Reentry Experiment (CARE) from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on 18 December 2014?

Ans. GSLV Mark-III-X

9) Book tittled "Born Again on the Mountain" which was released by Prime Minister Narendra  Modi on 12 December 2014 was written by?

Ans. Arunima Sinha

Note: She is the first Indian amputee and first female amputee to climb Mount Everest.

10) World Diamond Conference was recently held at?

Ans. New Delhi

11) Name the Indian-American physician who was on 15 December 2014 appointed as the 19th Surgeon General of America?

Ans. Vivek Hallegere Murthy

12) 14th Finance Commission headed by whom submitted its report to the President of India on 15 December 2014?

Ans. YV Reddy, former RBI governor

13) International Boxing Association (AIBA) on 17 December 2014 banned the which Indian boxer for one year for not accepting her bronze medal at Asian Games 2014 medal ceremony?

Ans. Sarita Devi 

14) Minorities Rights Day was observed across the world to create awareness on rights of minorities on?

Ans. 18 December

15) Name the Japanese Prime Minister who was on 14 December 2014 re-elected for another four-year term?

Ans. Shinzo Abe

16) Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympics Games mascot have been recently named respectively as?

Ans. Vinicius and Tom

17) Google on 15 December 2014 released its annual Year in Search (YIS) Report 2014. What was the top trending search during 2014?

Ans. Elections 2014

18) Who became the world’s first twin and sibling to climb the highest peaks of the seven continents on 16 December 2014?

Ans. Tashi Malik and Nungshi Malik

19) Union Government on 16 December 2014 banned which terror group under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act?

Ans. Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

20) Which Indian film was nominated on 13 December 2014 for Oscar 2015 in categories Best Picture and Best Original Score?

Ans. Jal

21) Who was appointed as Mauritius Prime Minister by the President Purryag on 14 December 2014?

Ans. Anerood Jugnauth

22) National Energy Conservation Day was observed on?

Ans. 14 December

23) Which Indian player on 15 December 2014 won his maiden London Classic Chess title?

Ans. Viswanathan Anand

24) Name the Japanese teens who became youngest table tennis champions on 13 December 2014 in table tennis World Grand Finals?

Ans. Mima Ito and Miu Hirano

25) Vijay Diwas was observed across the country on?

Ans. 16 December

26) Which country on 19 December 2014 became Associate Member State of CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research)?

Ans. Pakistan

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31 December 2014 Current Affairs Updates

1) Govt plans to make health a fundamental right: For the first time since Independence, the Indian government has moved towards making health a constitutional guarantee, the denial of which will be punishable. The health ministry on 31 December 2014 released a draft of the National Health Policy 2015, a document that will provide an overarching framework for the government’s health targets. The document answers one of the fundamental policy questions of our times—whether to pass a health rights Bill making health a fundamental right in the way that was done for education.

2) Government splits Chairman & MD post in PSU banks: Government has split the post of chairman and managing director at public sector banks (PSBs). In a statement on 31 December 2014, the finance ministry named managing directors (MDs) and chief executive officers (CEOs) of four banks and said the procedure for selection of a non-executive chairman would be announced shortly. Under the new format, “the chairman (except for State Bank of India, or SBI) will be a part-time board member who will preside over board meetings and not be an executive chairman”, said a statement by the finance ministry. Earlier, a committee headed by former Axis Bank chairman PJ Nayak had suggested radical changes, including the government giving up control in PSBs, for improving corporate governance practices.

3) Aamir Khan's PK tax free in Uttar Pradesh: Amidst row and demonstrations over Aamir Khan-starrer 'PK', the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to exempt the movie from entertainment tax. "Chief Minister Akilesh Yadav has watched the movie and has directed that such films should be exempted from the entertainment tax," a senior officer said.

4) ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan retired: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K. Radhakrishnan retired on 31 December 2014. Shailesh Nayak, who is Secretary, Union Earth Sciences Ministry, will hold additional and interim charge as Chairman for a month or until a regular chief is named, said an order by the Secretary, Appointments’ Committee of the Union Cabinet. Dr. Radhakrishnan led ISRO in many achievements over the past five years after he took over the reins in November 2009. The historic Mars Orbiter Mission was launched and guided to an orbit around the red planet under his leadership. Dr. Radhakrishnan took over from G. Madhavan Nair in October 2009 as the seventh chief of the space establishment.

5) President Pranab Mukherjee signed National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill: President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday formally assented to the National Judicial Appointments Commission, setting the stage for the scrapping of the decades-old collegium system of judges appointing judges. Under the new system, the government will have some say in such appointments. A six-member panel led by the chief justice of India will decide all appointments of judges to the Supreme Court and the 24 high courts. This panel will also include the law minister, two eminent personalities and two senior-most judges of the court. The eminent persons will be named by a panel, comprising the Prime Minister, the chief justice of India and the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha. One of the members will be a woman or belong to the scheduled caste, scheduled tribe, other backward class or minority communities.

6) Commercial power generation started in Kudankulam nuclear power plant: Commercial power generation in Kudankulam nuclear power plant started in Tamil Nadu on 30 December 2014 night, after getting approval from the Nuclear Power Corporation. The hot run of second unit will start from end of January after fulfilling technical equirements. Of the 1000 Mega Watt electricity generated in the first unit, 562 will be given to Tamil Nadu, 221 MW to Karnataka, 133 MW to Kerala, 33 MW to Puducherry. Till now more than 335 crore units of electricity has been generated from Kudankulam nuclear power plant.

7) Union government blocked 32 websites for spreading anti-India views and ISIS propaganda: Union government has blocked access to 32 websites for carrying anti-India views and spreading banned terrorist outfit Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS) propaganda. These websites were blocked after following an advisory given by an anti-terrorism team. The blocked uniform resource locator’s(URLs) include files, videos and source code-sharing websites. They were blocked by Department of Telecom(DoT) under Section 69 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and under Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009.

8) M Sathiyavathy becomes first woman to be appointed as Director General DGCA:  The government has appointed M Sathiyavathy, 1982 batch UT cadre IAS officer, as the DG till January 28, 2017 — making her the first woman director general of civil aviation (DGCA). Sathiyavathy, who is currently additional secretary and financial advisor in the aviation ministry and has a clean image, may, however, remain DG only for a few months as she is going to be empanelled as secretary later this year. Sathiyavathy will replace Prabhat Kumar, who has completed his central deputation and will go back to parent UP cadre.

9) Microsoft to replace Internet Explorer with new browser in Windows 10: According to sources Microsoft is building a completely new browser to replace the ubiquitous but oft-maligned Internet Explorer. This new Windows browser is being called "Spartan," and it seems it's a completely new browser not based on Internet Explorer at all.

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Daily Current Affairs Updates: 30 December 2014

1) Mahendra Singh Dhoni retired from Test cricket: Mahendra Singh Dhoni on 30 December 2014 surprised the cricket world with his sudden announcement of immediate retirement from Test cricket. Announcement of Dhoni's retirement after the wicketkeeper-batsman had played in 90 Test matches, 60 of them as captain, was made immediately after India lost the current Test series to Australia following a drawn third Test. Dhoni, who led India to an unprecedented two World Cup titles (2007 Twenty20 World Championships and the 2011 ODI World Cup), had been drawing flak for India's poor run in overseas Tests. Yet the wicketkeeper-batsman remains one of the most successful captains ever for India, having led the side to the top of ICC rankings in Tests in 2009.

2) Noted journalist B G Verghese passed away: Eminent journalist B G Verghese, a Ramon Magsaysay award winner and former editor of leading dailies Hindustan Times and Indian Express, passed away on 30 December 2014 at the age of 87 after brief illness. Verghese, who authored many books, was editor of Hindustan Times from 1969 to 1975 and The Indian Express from 1982 to 1986. He was also information adviser to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from 1966 to 1969 but was critical of her for imposing the Emergency in 1975. His books include Waters of hope, India's North East, Fourth Estate (2005) and his autobiography First Draft: Witness to Making of Modern India.

3) Nation remembered Dr. Vikram Sarabhai on his 43rd death anniversary: Nation on 30 December 2014 remembered Dr. Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai for his contribution towards India’s space research and development on his 43rd death anniversary. The establishment of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in Bangaluru in 1969 was one of his greatest achievements. The Indian space programme has made a quite impressive progress through its well-integrated, self-reliant programmes.

4) Australia retained Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Australia on 30 December 2014 regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after the third cricket Test ended in an exciting draw with a jittery India just about managing to avoid an embarrassing defeat in Melbourne. Set an improbable target of 384 in 70 overs courtesy Shaun Marsh's 99, India's batting frailty was again exposed and they survived some anxious moments before salvaging a draw. It ensured that India won't suffer a 'whitewash' this time around.

5) Uttarakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi transferred to Mizoram: Uttrakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi, who had taken the Modi government to Supreme Court for alleged attempts to ease him out of office, was on 30 December 2014 shifted to Mizoram. A Presidential communique said that Qureshi has been transferred and appointed as Governor of Mizoram for the remainder of his term till May 2017 and Meghalaya Governor K K Paul will take his place. Paul, who was appointed as Governor of Meghalaya on July 8, 2013, will continue to hold additional charge of Governor of Manipur till further orders.

6) Debris of the AirAsia plane QZ 8501 recovered: After three days of intense search, at least 40 bloated bodies and debris of the missing AirAsia aircraft carrying 162 people were found on 30 December 2014 in the Java Sea off Indonesia but mystery remained over the cause of the crash. The Indonesian navy reported that 40 bodies had been retrieved by one warship and rescuers were continuing to recover more bodies and were "very busy now".

7) Eminent Muslim educationist Saiyid Hamid dead: Noted educationist and former vice chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University Saiyid Hamid, who played a key role in the drafting of the Rajindar Sachar Committee report on the state of Muslims in the country, died on 29 December 2014 at age 94 in New Delhi. Born in Faizabad in 1920, Hamid, who also headed Jamia Hamdard, a deemed university, in 1999, worked for the educational uplift of Indian Muslims.

8) Malayalam filmmaker Madhu Kaithapram died: Malayalam filmmaker Madhu Kaithapram, who won the National award for his much-acclaimed debut venture ‘Ekantham’, died due to diabetes related complication. The 44-year-old director was undergoing treatment for diabetes at the hospital. ‘Ekantham’, starring late thespians Thilakan and Murali, was a poignant portrayal of loneliness of the elderly. The film released in 2006 won Madhu the National award for best debutant director and Kerala state film special jury award.

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