Current Affair 7 January 2016

1. J&K CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed passes away

1. Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed passed away at the AIIMS hospital in New Delhi due to multi organ failure. He was 79.
2. Sayeed was the first Muslim Minister for Home Affairs in India's Union Cabinet in 1989.
3. He was a member of the National Congress Party, which he quit to join V. P. Singh's Jan Morcha and later rejoined NCP under Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao.
4. He finally quit the Congress in 1999 along with daughter Mehbooba Mufti to form his own party Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party (JKPDP).
5. Sayeed was twice elected as the Chief Minister of the state. Owing to his death, Mehbooba Mufti is now expected to take over the post.

    2.    French conductor & composer Pierre Boulez dies

1. Pierre Boulez, former principal conductor of the New York Philharmonic, passed away in, Germany, aged 90.
2. He significantly contributed to creating a radical new path for classical music in the 20th century and became one of its dominant figures in the decades after World War II.
3. His recordings have won more than 25 Grammy awards. He worked with Chicago Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris and the London Symphony Orchestra.
4. Boulez led the New York Philharmonic and the BBC Symphony Orchestra during the 1970s.
5. During his long and successful career he was involved in conducting, composing and teaching that made him one of the leading figures in modern classical music.

   3.   Apurvi Chandela breaks record; wins gold at Swedish Cup Grand Prix

1. Indian shooter Apurvi Chandela broke the world record to win a gold medal in the women's 10-metre air rifle event at the Swedish Cup Grand Prix.
2. Chandela shot 211.2 in the event to beat Chinese Olympic gold medallist Yi Siling, who held the record with 211.
3. Swedish shooters Astrid Steffensen and Stine Nielsen won the silver and bronze respectively.
4. Chandela also won a gold medal in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, four medals at the Intershoot Championships at the Hague the same year.
5. She bagged the gold medal in the 10-metre air rifle event at the National Shooting Championships in New Delhi in 2012.

   4.    Hashim Amla resigns as South Africa Test captain

1. South Africa Test captain Hashim Amla has resigned as the Test captain after the team drew the second Test against England.
2. ODI captain AB de Villiers will take over as captain to complete the four-match Test series against England.
3. Amla had replaced Graeme Smith's in mid-2014 and this was his sixth series as the skipper.
4. He has been criticised for his leadership since the start of the series against England. However, he resumed good form in the second match scoring 201 runs.

   5.    Centre approves reservation for women in paramilitary forces

1. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has approved 33% reservation of Constable-level posts for women in order to enhance their representation.
2. The 33% reservation of Constable-level posts in CRPF & CISF and 14-15% posts at Constable-level in Border Security Force, Sashastra Seema Bal and Indo Tibetan Border Police, will be effected immediately.
3. This decision was taken after the Committee on Empowerment of Women had recommended the need to give women due representation in paramilitary forces.

   6.    Yahoo to reduce workforce by 10% or more

1. Yahoo is planning to cut down on its workforce by 10% or more by January-end.
2. The downsizing will majorly affect Yahoo's media business, European operations, and platforms-technology group.
3. Around 1000 employees of the company will be affected by this move, which was effected after activist investor Starboard Value LP letter's to Yahoo.
4. The letter was directed to CEO Marissa Mayer and her leadership team, raising the prospect that a proxy battle is imminent.
5. There has been substantial pressure on the company to find a new path forward after a three-year turnaround failed to revitalise the business.

   7.   Shatrughan Sinha publishes his biography Anything but Khamosh

1. Actor and MP Shatrughan Sinha has published his biography titled Anything but Khamosh.
2. Sinha's autobiography was authored by Bharti S Pradhan on the basis of personal interviews spread over seven years beginning November 2008.

    8.   E-commerce giant Flipkart to raise $1.4 billion

1. Keeping up its fundraising spree and efforts to cement its leadership in the online retail market, e-commerce giant Flipkart has started talks with investors to raise $1.4 billion  (approximately 9,200 crores).
2. US-based Sands Capital Management is in loop for the first round funding of $700 million. Sands Capital Ventures is known for financially backing grocery retailer Big-Basket and hyper-local logistics firm Opinio.
3. Flipkart is hoping to take up the sale to $12 billion this year, which is a three-fold increase vis-a-vis last year.
4. In the past two years, Flipkart has raised $2.6 billion in order to tackle challenges from cash-rich competitors.

     9.   RIL rejects Shah Panel's decisions, argues for arbitration

1. Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has challenged the jurisdiction of a panel examining Oil and Natural Gas Corporation's (ONGC) allegations that it pumped out gas from the state-run firm's field.
2. It has also challenged the oil ministry's decision to intervene in the dispute by setting up a committee, headed by Justice AP Shah.
3. RIL said in a letter, "RIL does not accept in this particular matter that the Government of India can appoint a 'committee' or can deal with any issues on the dispute".

    10.  Achyuta Samanta elected General President of 105th Indian Science Congress

1. Dr Achyuta Samanta has been elected as the General President of the 105th Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) that is scheduled for 2017-18.
2. Dr Samanta is has been a serving member of the Executive Council of Indian Science Congress Association since 2011.
3. This makes Samanta the second Odia after Prof Prana Krushna Parija to be elected as President of the Indian Science Congress.
4. Dr Samanta is a well-known educationist and has set up renowned institutions like KIIT (Kalinga Institute of Information Technology) University that has around 25,000 students enrolled in about 25 programs and KISS (Kalinga Institute of Social Science) where around  25,000 indigenous students are being given free residential education from KG to PG.

 11. Priyanka Chopra wins People's Choice Award for favourite actress

1. Priyanka Chopra has won the People's Choice Award for favourite actress for her role in the ABC television series 'Quantico', her debut in American television.
2. This makes Priyanka the first Indian actor to win an award at the People's Choice Awards.

 12.    Apple CEO Tim Cook earns $10.3 million salary in 2015

1. Apple CEO Tim Cook earned $10.3 million in 2015, a hike of 11.5% since 2014. The year was favorable for the company, with its iPhone 6S and 6S Plus registering booming China sales.
2. Cook's base pay rose by around 14.4% to $2 million last year, while non-equity incentive compensation was increased by about 19% to $8 million.
3. Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri's annual compensation rose about 81% to $25.3 million in 2015.
4. Cook holds about 3.1 million Apple shares that have not vested, potentially enabling him to earn over $310 million.
5. The company faced a few disappointments at the end of 2015, with shares falling about 4.6% for the year and shares of the world's most valuable company dropping below $100 for the first time in nearly five months.