Current Affairs: 16 December 2016

Kochi's Sahaj International School will be inaugurated on December 30 to become India's first transgender school.
Led by six transgenders working with the TransIndia Foundation, the school will initially have 10 children.
The students, including a migrant and a disabled person, have been selected from various sections of the transgender community.

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New Zealand women's team captain Suzie Bates became the first female cricketer to win both ICC's ODI and T20I Player of the Year awards.
Bates, who had previously won the ODI Player of the Year award in 2013, won her maiden T20I Player of the Year award this year.
Bates was 2016's highest run-scorer in T20Is and second-highest in ODIs

Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International airport became India's first airport to introduce self bag-drop facility.
This will allow passengers who have already checked in online to quickly tag and drop their baggage before heading directly to the gate.
This facility is currently available to passengers of Air India, Jet Airways, SpiceJet, and Indigo.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav laid the foundation stone of the 15-km-long metro link from Noida’s Sector 71 to Greater Noida’s Knowledge Park-V through a video conference from Lucknow.
The CM also inaugurated the 3.9 km Botanical Garden-Kalindi Kunj metro project, on which trials are underway.
This metro link is expected to open by April 2017, officials said.

A Gujarat-born activist who led a campaign against low pay to women workers at a UK factory in the 1970s has been included in BBC's most influential women of the past 70 years list.
Jayaben Desai, known as the sari-clad leader, was one of the seven women on the list topped by Margaret Thatcher, Britain's first female Prime Minister.
US Federal Reserve System raises base interest rate by 25 p.p to 0.5-0.75%
The US Federal Reserve System acting as the national central bank has raised the base interest rate by 25 percentage points to 0.5-0.75%, the regulator said in a statement after the meeting of its management.
This is the first time the US Federal Reserve System raised the rate this year.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has gone the Amma way.
Amma canteens offer affordable hygienic food to the less privileged in Tamil Nadu, Vasundhara Raje government has introduced Annapurna Rasoi Yojana in Rajasthan.
Breakfast shall be made available at Rs 5 and nutritious food for Rs 8.

The National Institute for Transforming India(NITI) Aayog, the government's policy think-tank, on Thursday announced a lottery with daily, weekly and mega awards for consumers and merchants, to encourage a transition to digital payments .
The awards will be offered through two schemes - the Lucky Grahak Yojana for consumers, and the Digi-dhan Vyapar Yojana for merchants at an estimated cost of Rs 340 crore, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said.
Both the schemes will cover small transactions between Rs 50 and Rs 3,000 to encourage every section of the society+ to move to digital payments, Kant explained.
Andy Murray wins SJA British Sports Awards 2016 Sportsman of the Year
Andy Murray added another prestigious title to his incredible haul for 2016 as the world tennis No.1 was named the SJA British Sports Award Sportsman of the Year.
Murray, 29, reigned supreme after an unforgettable year that saw him win Wimbledon, the Rio Olympics and end the year as the best male tennis player on the planet.

The Indian arm of the South Korean carmaker, Hyundai Motor India, was today awarded with the “Indian Manufacturer of the Year – 2016” award by Frost & Sullivan at the India Manufacturing Excellence Awards 2016.
The award is the highest recognition given to any manufacturer India for its excellent manufacturing techniques.
Hyundai India was adjudged the winner of the prestigious award out of 93 entries that were selected from a shortlist of 102 sites