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.

Jaipur Wax Museum at Nahargarh Fort Inaugurated

• Bollywood actor Govinda inaugurated the Jaipur Wax Museum on Saturday at the 18th-century Nahargarh Fort, which overlooks the city. 
• The museum houses wax sculptures of around 25 personalities, including actor Amitabh Bachchan and warriors Maharana Pratap and Sawai Jai Singh. 
• Govinda said, "I hope there will more activities like this in Jaipur."

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.

Government to set up single tribunal to arbitrate inter-State water disputes

The Union Government has decided to set up a single permanent Tribunal to adjudicate all inter-State river water disputes. This single body will subsume all existing tribunals for resolving grievances of inter-State water disputes in a speedy manner. It will be headed by a retired Supreme Court judge. The Tribunal will also have more teeth as whenever it gives order, the verdict gets notified automatically. Until now, the Union Government was required to notify the awards, causing delay in its implementation. 

Newly proposed mechanisms

Benches for adjudicating inter-State river water disputes 

Besides the tribunal, the Union Government has also proposed to float some Benches by amending the Inter-State Water Disputes Act, 1956 to look into disputes as and when required. Unlike the tribunal, these benches will cease to exist once the disputes are resolved. Earlier water tribunals took decades to deliver final awards into disputes, whereas the proposed Tribunal is expected to deliver its verdict during a span of three years.

Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC)

Along with the tribunal, the amendment also has been proposed to set up Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC). The DRC will be comprising experts and policy-makers. It is proposed to handle disputes prior to the tribunal. The Union Government will set up a DRC whenever a state will request. Most of the disputes will be resolved at the DRC’s level itself. But if a State is not satisfied, it can approach the tribunal.

Union Government forms high-level task force on Indus Water Treaty

The Union government has formed a high-level inter-ministerial task force to look into all the strategic aspects of Indus Water Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan. Mandate of Task force is to take all important strategic and policy decisions. Thus, it will be an all-powerful body which will take decisions regarding the treaty. It will be headed by Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary Nripendra Mishra. Besides, other members of it include NSA Ajit Doval, foreign secretary S Jaishankar and secretaries in ministries of finance, power, water resource and environment. Besides, chief secretaries of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir are invitees in the task force. 

Background 

The high-level inter-ministerial task force has been formed after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had held a review meeting on the 56-year-old Indus Water Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan in the aftermath of series of cross-border terror strikes including Uri attack. In that meeting, it was also decided that India will exploit to the maximum water of Pakistan-controlled Rivers including Jhelum. 

AYUSH Ministry launches Swasthya Raksha Programme

The Union AYUSH Ministry has launched ‘Swasthya Raksha Programme’ to promote health and health education in villages. The programme was initiated through Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH), Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM) and Central Council for Research in Siddha (CCRS). It was launched by AYUSH Ministry in October 2015. 

Aims and objectives of Swasthya Raksha Programme

 Organize Swasthya Parikshan Camps, Swasthya Rakshan OPDs and Health and Hygiene awareness programme Create awareness about cleanliness of domestic surroundings and environment. Provide medical aid and incidental support in the adopted villages and colonies. Document demographic information, hygiene conditions, food habits, seasons, lifestyle etc., incidence and prevalence of disease and their relation to the incidence of disease. Assess health status and propagation of Ayurvedic concept of pathya-apathya and extension of health care services.

World’s first Goat with superfine wool cloned in China

The world’s first cloned goat bearing superfine Cashmere wool was born in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The goat will be raised in a base for animal husbandry research conducted by experts from agricultural universities in southwest China’s Yunnan Province and Inner Mongolia. Cashmere wool is obtained from Cashmere goats and few other types of goat. The wool fibre obtained from clonned goat is less than 13.8 micrometres thick. It is much finer than the average of 15.8 micrometres of the famous Erlang Mountain goats in Inner Mongolia. 

Cloning: It is scientific process of creating genetically identical copies of biological matter. It may include genetically identical copies of genes, cells, tissues or entire organisms.