Current Affairs 20 Dec.2016
Accent Institute Hisar

Dictionary Merriam-Webster has named “surreal” as its word of the year

• The lexicographer selected surreal – which means “unbelievable, fantastic” – after spikes in searches following terrorist attacks and the US election.
• The attacks in Brussels, the Bastille Day massacre in Nice and the attempted coup in Turkey all saw an increase in how often people searched for the word
• “Surreal” is also defined as meaning “marked by the intense irrational reality of a dream”, according to Merriam Webster.

Lakshmi Bai awards, 7 more Yash Bhartis given away

• Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav was on a spree of awards distribution on Monday, giving away Rani Lakshmi Bai award to 88 women achievers and 306 women village pradhans and Yash Bharati to seven more achievers from the state.
• Receivers of Rani Lakshmi Bai Bravery Award include Prachi Sharma and Pratibha, two pilots of Lucknow Metro for being the first train operators during the trial run in December.

Punit Goenka honoured with Business Today ‘Best CEO Award’

• Punit Goenka, Managing Director and CEO of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) has been honoured with the Business Today ‘Best CEO Award’ in the Media and Entertainment category for 2016
• The methodology of Business Today’s Best CEO Awards focused on the operational performance of companies and their shareholders returns which was conducted by BT’s Knowledge support partner for the process PwC India.

Miss Puerto Rico crowned Miss World 2016

• Stephanie Del Valle from Puerto Rico was crowned Miss World 2016 here, with representatives from Dominican Republic and Indonesia the runners-up. India’s Priyadarshini Chatterjeeonly made it to the top 20.
• Miss World 2015 Mireia Lalaguna Royo crowned the 19-year-old Stephanie, the second Puerto Rican to hold the title after Wilnelia Merced won it in 1975, at the event’s grand finale held at the MGM National Harbor

Justice JS Khehar to be the 1st Sikh Chief Justice of India

• President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday cleared the appointment of Justice JS Khehar as the next Chief Justice of India, and the first from Sikh community.
• Justice Khehar will be sworn in as the 44th CJI on January 4, 2017. He will have a short tenure of about seven months until August 28, 2017, following which he will retire.

Priyanka chosen as Assam’s tourism ambassador for 2 years

• Actress Priyanka Chopra has been appointed Assam’s tourism brand ambassador for two years.
• The state’s Finance and Tourism Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “She is coming to Guwahati on December 24 when we will formally appoint her as our brand ambassador.”
• Sarma added that Priyanka will visit Assam several times in the next few months to take part in shoots.

Karun Nair fastest Indian to score maiden 200 in Tests

• Karun Nair became the fastest Indian to score maiden double ton in Tests, reaching the milestone in his career’s third innings during the ongoing Chennai Test against England o.
• Nair surpassed Vinod Kambli, who took four innings to score a double ton. This is also Nair’s maiden Test ton, with his previous best innings score being 13.