The year 2017 is toward its end and 2018 is smiling at us. There have been many such important events this year, which are very important to remember in terms of current affairs. In this issue of Current Affairs monthly magazine, JagaranJosh is providing brief and essential information of 50 selected events which occurred throughout the year.
1. Ramnath Kovind took oath as 14th President of India
Ram Nath Kovin
d took oath as the 14th President of India on 25 July 2017, following his landmark win in the Presidential elections. He was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice of India Justice JS Khehar at a special function in the Parliament.
With this, Kovind has become the second Dalit President of India after KR Narayanan. The NDA presidential candidate defeated the opposition candidate Meira Kumar by 1086 votes.
At the time of his nomination as the Presidential candidate, Ram Nath Kovind was serving Bihar as its Governor.
2. Venkaiah Naidu sworn in as 13th Vice President of the country
Union Minister Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu was sworn in as the 13th Vice President of India on 11 August 2017. He was administered the oath of office and secrecy by President Ram Nath Kovind at a special function at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Naidu was elected as the Vice President on 5 August 2017 by defeating opposition candidate Gopal Krishna Gandhi.
3. Nirmala Sitharaman becomes India’s first full-time woman Defence Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman, a JNU alumni and former Minister of State (Independent Charge) Commerce, was appointed as the new Defence Minister on 3 September 2017, thus gaining entry into Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Union Cabinet.
The trained economist took the charge of the key ministry from Arun Jaitley who had been handling the portfolio after Manohar Parrikar quit to become Goa's chief minister.
With the development, Sitharaman became India's first full-time Defence Minister and second all-time one, after Indira Gandhi who had held the portfolio twice, first from 1- 21 December in 1975 and the second time from 14 January 1980 to 15 January 1982.
So, India has a woman at the helm of the key ministry, 35 years after the last one.
4. GST rollout: India launched historic indirect tax regime GST after 17 years of debate
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) was launched in India at the stroke of midnight on 1 July 2017, nearly after 17 years of its conception.
The taxation system will be administered together by the Centre and States. The GST council finalised a four-tier structure for taxation in line with the tax slab for goods and services, which includes 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent.
5. Rajiv Kumar succeeded Panagariya as new Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog
The Union government on 5 August 2017 appointed noted economist Rajiv Kumar as the new Vice- Chairman of NITI Aayog.
Kumar would be succeeding Arvind Panagariya, who recently announced his resignation in order to return to the field of academics.
6. Justice Dipak Misra appointed as 45th Chief Justice of India
The Union government on 8 August 2017 appointed Justice Dipak Misra as the 45th Chief Justice of India (CJI). Justice Misra will be sworn in as the 45th Chief Justice of India by President Ram Nath Kovind on 27 August 2017.
He will succeed incumbent Justice J S Khehar, who is set to retire on 27 August 2017. Misra's name was recommended by Justice Khehar himself to succeed him as the next Chief Justice of India.
7. KK Venugopal appointed as Attorney General of India
Senior advocate and constitutional expert KK Venugopal was on 30 June 2017 appointed as the 15th Attorney General of India. His appointment was approved by President Pranab Mukherjee after his name was proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Venugopal will succeed Mukul Rohatgi, who chose to return to private practice after a three-year term as the Attorney General of India, country's top law position. He returns as a law officer after four decades. Earlier, in 1977, he had served as Additional Solicitor General.
8. India’s Manushi Chhillar crowned Miss World 2017
India's Manushi Chhillar was crowned Miss World 2017 at the prestigious pageant’s 67th edition that was held in Sanya, China on 18 November 2017.
The 20-year-old was crowned Miss World 2017 by outgoing titleholder Stephanie Del Val le, Miss World from Puerto Rico. Chhillar’s win has brought home the coveted title after a 17-year-long wait. The last Indian contestant to win Miss World was Priyanka Chopra in the year 2000.
9. 15th Finance Commission constituted under the chairmanship of NK Singh
The Union Government on 27 November 2017 constituted Fifteenth Finance Commission under the chairmanship of former bureaucrat NK Singh. The Commission will make recommendations for five years commencing on 1 April 2020.
Constituted under clause (1) of article 280 of the Indian Constitution, the commission came into force with the approval President Ram Nath Kovind. The other members of the 15th Finance Commission are Shaktikanta Das, former Secretary to Union Government and Anoop Singh, Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University.
10. British PM Theresa May wins confidence vote in parliament
British Prime Minister Theresa May on 30 June 2017 narrowly won the confidence vote in the parliament, winning her first major test as the Prime Minister of a minority government in the United Kingdom (UK).
With this, May was finally confirmed as the British Prime Minister, after winning the vote on her legislative programme known as the Queen's Speech. The vote on the Queen's Speech is considered as a vote of confidence on the Government as a whole.
11. Emmanuel Macron elected as President of France
Pro-European centrist leader Emmanuel Macron has been elected as President of France after winning 20.7 million votes on 8 May 2017. Thirty-nine-year-old former investment banker, who has never held elected office, becomes the youngest President and occupant of the Élysée Palace.
He is France's youngest leader since Napoleon Bonaparte.
12. Cabinet approved recommendations of the 7th CPC on allowances
The Union Cabinet on 28 June 2017 approved the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) on allowances. The revised rates of allowances came into effect from 1 July 2017.
The 7th CPC adopted a three-pronged approach in examining a total of 197 allowances which involved an assessment of the need for continuation of each allowance. Based on the examination, the 7th CPC recommended that 53 allowances be abolished and 37 be subsumed in an existing or a newly proposed allowance.
13. PM Narendra Modi launched 'Saubhagya' scheme
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a Rs. 16320-Crore ‘Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana'- Saubhagya on 25 September 2017 in New Delhi to mark the birth anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya. Through this scheme, the government would supply electricity to all household by the end of 2018.
Listed on the agenda of the Cabinet meeting held last week, the scheme is expected to cover all rural families after expected electrification of all villages by the end of 2018.
14. PM Narendra Modi launched UDAN scheme, flags off first UDAN flight on Shimla-Delhi route
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 27 April 2017 launched air regional connectivity scheme UDAN (Ude Desh ka Har Nagarik). Under the scheme, the first UDAN flight was flagged off on Shimla-Delhi route.
UDAN is a first-of-its-kind scheme which aims to stimulate regional connectivity through a market-based mechanism. Under the scheme, 24 airports in the western region, 17 in the northern region, 11 in the southern region, 12 in east and six in north-eastern parts of the country will be connected.
15. PM Narendra Modi launched BHIM-Aadhaar Pay app
Prime Minister Modi on 14 August 2017, the 126th birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar, launched BHIM-Aadhaaar app for merchants in Nagpur. In addition to this, he also launched cash back and referral bonus schemes for BHIM and declared about 75 townships spread all over India as ‘less-cash townships’.
The initiatives were launched with an aim to further the digital payments revolution in India. It also seeks to reinforce the vision of Baba Saheb for social empowerment of all through financial inclusion.
16. Indian Army developed app, Humraaz, for soldiers to track promotions, postings
The Indian Army has developed a mobile application named Humraaz. The app will allow serving soldiers to track details like postings and promotions.
The mobile app has been developed in-house by the Army and will be launched in the second week of August 2017. The app will allow prompt communication of information to junior commissioned officers and other personnel.
For security reasons, the installation of the application has been linked to verification of Aadhaar details.
The Aadhaar details will be verified with the Army database over National Information Centre cloud and Army personal will get a one-time-password on their registered mobile number.
17. PM Narendra Modi launched 'Intensified Mission Indradhanush'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched an intensive immunisation drive at Vadnagar in Gujarat on 8 October 2017.
The campaign called the Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI), aims to reach every child below the age of two years and pregnant women still uncovered under the routine immunisation programme. The main objective behind this mission is to ensure no child suffers from any vaccine- preventable disease.
18. First Made in India industrial robot BRABO unveiled
TAL Manufacturing Solutions in April 2017 unveiled India’s first conceptualized, designed and manufactured articulated industrial robot called BRABO.BRABO stands for “Bravo Robot”. It has been developed indigenously for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in India.
TAL Manufacturing Solutions is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Motors.
19. MEA launched SAMEEP to take foreign policy to classroom
The Ministry of External Affairs has launched a new program SAMEEP (Students and MEA Engagement Program), to make the student understand India's place in the world and its global ambitions, and also to look at diplomacy as a career option. It’s an "outreach" mission by MEA to take India’s foreign policy and its worldwide engagements to students across the country.
Under this new program SAMEEP, the MEA (Ministry of External affairs) has asked all its officers, undersecretary and above, to go their hometowns and particularly their alma mater while on leave.
There they would engage and interact with students in the schools and colleges and convey how the MEA works, India’s foreign policy, how they do diplomacy so that the student consider about this as a career option.
SAMEEP is a voluntary programme and it provides foreign officials the option of going back to any school or college in their hometown or to their alma mater.
20. Five associate banks, Bharatiya Mahila Bank merged with SBI
Five associate banks of SBI and the Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) were on 1 April 2017 merged with the State Bank of India (SBI). These five associate banks that were merged with the SBI are - State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Travancore.
With this merger, SBI will join the league of top 50 banks globally in terms of assets. Currently, no Indian bank features in the top 50 banks of the world.
21. SC banned sale and registration of Non-BS-IV Compliant Vehicles
The Supreme Court (SC) on 29 March 2017 banned the sale and registration of vehicles which are not compliant with Bharat Stage-IV (BS-IV) emission norms.
All the vehicle registering authorities under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, are prohibited from registering non-BS-IV compliant vehicles except on proof that such a vehicle has already been sold on or before 31 March 2017.
22. India slipped to rank 131 in Human Development Index, Norway tops again
India slipped to rank 131 in the 2016 Human Development Report (HDR) that was released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on 21 March 2017.
Among the 188 countries ranked in terms of human development, India stood at 131, a rank below its previous 130. India’s human development index (HDI) value of 0.624 puts it in the “medium human development” category alongside Pakistan and other countries such as Congo and Namibia.
Only two SAARC nations rank above India in the list, Sri Lanka (73) and Maldives (105), both of which figure in the high human development category.
23. ISRO successfully launched record 104 satellites including Cartosat-2 in single mission
The Indian Space Research organisation (ISRO) began 2017 with a historic feat in world space science by sending 104 satellites through PSLV C37 on 15 February 2017. The 104 satellites included India’s Cartosat-2 and two nano-satellites.
With this launch, ISRO successfully created a world record of inserting the highest number of satellites into space in a single launch. Its previous personal record was of sending 20 satellites in one go.
24. US President Donald Trump signed executive order to pull US out of TPP
Donald Trump, President of the United States of America, on 23 January 2017 signed an executive order to formally pull the country out of the negotiating process of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
The TPP was one of the major international trade initiatives of Barack Obama. The partnership was aimed at setting trade rules for the 21st century and binding US allies against growing Chinese economic clout.
25. Trump announced US withdrawal from Paris Agreement on Climate Change
President Donald Trump announced on 1 June 2017 that he would withdraw the United States from the landmark 2015 Paris agreement to fight climate change.
Trump stated that the Paris accord would undermine the U.S. economy, cost U.S. jobs, weaken American national sovereignty and put the country at a permanent disadvantage to the other countries of the world.
26. US pulled out of UN’s migrant and refugee pact
The United States has withdrawn itself from a United Nations pact to improve the handling of migrant and refugee situations deeming it ‘inconsistent’ with its policies.
The announcement was made by the US Mission to the United Nations in a statement, in which it informed the UN Secretary-General about US’s intention of ending its participation in the Global Compact on Migration, as it contained numerous provisions that are inconsistent with the Trump Administration's immigration principles.
27. US, Israel withdrew from UNESCO, accusing the cultural body of 'anti-Israel bias’
The United States and its ally Israel announced on 12 October 2017 that they were pulling out of the UN's culture and education body, UNESCO, accusing it of anti-Israel bias.
Speaking on the decision, the US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said that the decision was not taken lightly and it reflects US concerns with mounting arrears at UNESCO, the need for fundamental reform in the organisation and continuing anti-Israel bias.
28. US President recognised Jerusalem as capital of Israel, promises to move US embassy
The President of United States on 6 December 2017 recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, keeping with his long overdue campaign promise.
Trump has also announced the plan of relocating the US embassy, which is currently based in Tel Aviv, to Jerusalem, a move that is being opposed by many nations across the world including some of America’s closest allies.
29. Wassenaar Arrangement to admit India as its new Member
Wassenaar Arrangement (WA), key export control regime, on 7 December 2017 decided to admit India as its new member. The decision was taken during the two-day plenary meeting of the Wassenaar Arrangement grouping in Vienna.
The participating states of Wassenaar Arrangement reviewed the progress of the membership applications and agreed to admit India. Countries like Russia, France, Germany and the United States supported India’s bid to the group.
India will become the Arrangement's 42nd participating state as soon as the necessary procedural arrangements for joining the WA are completed.
30. India became 35th full member of Missile Technology Control Regime
India on 27 June 2016 became the 35th full member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). This entry would be mutually beneficial to enhance global non-proliferation norms.
The instrument of accession to MTCR for India was signed in New Delhi by Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar. The entry also marks India's first entry into any multilateral export control regime.
The MTCR Point of Contact in Paris conveyed the decision regarding India's accession to the regime through the French Embassy in New Delhi as well as the Embassies of The Netherlands and Luxembourg.
31. NASA developing first planetary defence mechanism
NASA is developing the first-ever mission that will work as a planetary defence mechanism against potential cosmic body impacts in the future.
The mission, The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), is being designed, built and managed by the John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. It is the first-ever design that will have the capability of deflecting a near-Earth asteroid.
32. India’s Mars Orbiter, Mangalyaan completed 1000 days in orbit
Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), ISRO’s maiden interplanetary mission completed 1000 Earth days in its orbit on 19 June 2017, well beyond its designed mission life of six months.
This mission was launched on 5 November 2013 by PSLV-C25 and got inserted into the Martian orbit on 24 September 2014 in its very first attempt. 1000 Earth days corresponds to 973.25 Mars Sols (Martian Solar day) and MOM completed 388 orbits.
33. NASA's Juno Mission revealed Jupiter's deep secrets
The first science results from Nasa's Juno Mission were revealed on 25 May 2017 by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Juno captured the images which portray Jupiter, the largest planet in the Solar System, as a complex, gigantic, turbulent world with Earth-sized polar cyclones, plunging storm systems that travel deep into the heart of the gas giant.
34. Hyden Cross became first transgender man to give birth in Britain
Britain's first pregnant man has given birth to a girl. Hyden Cross, 21, made headlines around the world earlier in 2017 when he announced that he was pregnant by a sperm donor.
Three years ago, Cross had legally become male through gender assignment. He, however, put his transition on hold to have a child. Reports suggest that his daughter, Trinity-Leigh, was born on 16 June 2017 by caesarian at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. With her birth, Cross became the first transgender man to give birth in the United Kingdom.
35. Privacy is a Fundamental Right under Article 21: Supreme Court
A nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court on 24 August 2017 ruled that the Right to Privacy is the Fundamental Right under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. The bench observed that privacy is intrinsic to freedom of life and personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The bench overruled the previous judgments in the M P Sharma and Kharak Singh cases, which declared that the Right to Privacy was not protected by the Constitution.
36. Ahmedabad became first Indian city to get UNESCO Heritage tag
The Indian city of Ahmedabad on 8 July 2017 was declared India’s first World Heritage City, recognising heritage value of the walled city’s unique heritage. The announcement was made by the World Heritage Committee (WHC) of UNESCO following a meeting in Krakwo, Poland.
After the announcement, the city has now joined the likes of heritage cities like Paris, Edinburg, Galle in Sri Lanka, Cairo, among others. Ahmadabad’s nomination received huge support from around 20 countries, who lauded the peaceful co-existence of dominant Hindu, Islamic and Jain communities in the Walled City area. In 2011, the city had figured in UNESCO’s tentative list.
37. International Solar Alliance came into force
The International Solar Alliance (ISA) on 6 December 2017 became a treaty-based international inter-governmental organisation following the ratification by Guinea on 6 November 2017.
Guinea was the 15th country to ratify the agreement. And as per the rules, ISA would become an international legal body after the ratification by 15 countries. The other 14 countries were India, Bangladesh, Comoros, Fiji, France, Ghana, Mauritius, Nauru, Niger, Mali, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan and Tuvalu.
38. India ratified two ILO Conventions on elimination of child labour
The Indian government on 13 June 2017 ratified two fundamental Conventions of the International Labour Office (ILO) concerning the elimination of child labour, the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No 138) and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182).
India is the 170th ILO member state to ratify Convention No 138 that requires states party to set a minimum age under which no one shall be admitted to employment or work in any occupation with the exception of light work and artistic performances.
39. Union Government cleared Kambala Bill, legalising the Buffalo race
The Union Ministry of Law and Justice cleared the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Karnataka Amendment) Bill 2017, legalising Kambala, a traditional race involving buffaloes.
Kambala is an annual Buffalo Race that is held traditionally under the sponsorship of local landlords and households in the coastal districts of Karnataka, India to entertain the rural people. Slushy/marshy paddy field track is used for Kambala.
40. Union Environment Ministry banned sale of cattle for slaughter
The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests on 23 May 2017 came up with new regulations that ban the sale of all kinds of cattle for slaughter across India.
The rules were issued under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. It requires anyone purchasing cattle to provide an undertaking that the animals are bought for agricultural purposes and not slaughter. The definition of cattle includes bulls, bullocks, cows, buffalos, steers, heifers, calves and camels.
41. NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant launches India Innovation Index
NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on 2 February 2017 launched the India Innovation Index in New Delhi. It is India’s first online innovation index portal. It will capture data on innovation from all Indian states and regularly update it in real time.
The primary objective of the India Innovation Index is to rank Indian states as per their innovation prowess and provide impetus to them to build their respective innovation ecosystems.
It is a joint initiative of the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog), Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Multilateral agencies such as the World Economic Forum, the World Intellectual Property Organization, Cornell University, OECD, UNIDO, ILO, UNESCO and ITU will help the NITI Aayog in developing the index.
42. NITI Aayog launches SATH Program
NITI Aayog on 10 June 2017 launched SATH Program for providing ‘Sustainable Action for Transforming Human capital (SATH) to the State Governments.
The program is aimed at initiating the transformation in the education and health sectors and also aims to address the need for technical support from NITI Aayog towards the states.
SATH aims to identify and build three future ‘role model’ states for health systems.NITI Aayog will work in close collaboration with the state machinery to design a robust roadmap of intervention, develop a program governance structure, set up monitoring and tracking mechanisms and provide support on a range of institutional measures to achieve the end objectives.
It will be implemented by NITI along with McKinsey & Company and IPE Global consortium, who were selected through a competitive bidding process. To select the three model states, NITI defined a three-stage process – expression of interest, presentations by the states; and assessment of commitment to health sector reforms.
43. India unveiled 3rd National Wildlife Action Plan for 2017-2031
Third National Wildlife Action Plan for 2017-2031 was unveiled by India spelling out the future road map for wildlife conservation.
A road map to conserve wildlife of the country, in the form of an Action Plan was mooted in the 15th convention of Indian Board for Wildlife (NBWL) during 1982 and accordingly, the 1st National Wildlife Action Plan (NWAP-1) was drafted and adopted in 1983. It was put into practice from 1983 through 2001.
The Plan is based on the foundation that ecological processes that are governed, supported or strongly moderated by ecosystems are essential for food production, health and other aspects of human survival and sustainable development. So, maintenance of these ecosystems that can be termed as ‘Life Support Systems’ is vital for all societies regardless of their stage of development.
It also emphasizes on other two aspects of living resource conservation that is, preservation of genetic diversity and sustainable utilization of species and ecosystems which has a direct bearing on our scientific advancements and support to millions of rural communities.
44. Habibganj Railway Station to become India’s first private railway station
Habibganj Railway Station, located in the suburbs of Bhopal, will become India’s first railway station to be redeveloped in a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode.
The station redevelopment work in the railway station will be launched on 9 June 2017 by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. The project aims at developing Habibganj Railway Station as a as a world-class transit hub equipped with all amenities.
45. IUCN declared Snow Leopard no longer endangered
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in September 2017 announced that snow leopards are no longer considered an endangered species.
The IUCN moved the animal into the less urgent “vulnerable” category. Although, the species still remain at risk from a reduction in numbers of its prey and poaching for its fur and bones.
It is interesting to note that the IUCN has reclassified snow leopard for the first time in 45 years.
46. Rohit Sharma became 1st batsmen to score 3 ODI double centuries
Indian batsman Rohit Sharma created history on 13 December 2017 by becoming the first batsman in the history of cricket to score three double centuries in one-day internationals (ODI).
The ace batsman achieved the feat during India’s second ODI against Sri Lanka in Mohali, Punjab, in which India put up a mammoth score of 394/4 in 50 overs.
47. Ravi Shastri was named new coach of Indian Cricket Team
The BCCI on 11 July 2017 named Ravi Shastri as the new chief coach of the Indian cricket team. He will be with the team as its head coach till ICC World Cup 2019.
The Virat Kohli-led Indian cricket team has been without a head coach after Anil Kumble resigned from the post after the ICC Champions Trophy 2017.
For Shastri, 55, this will be his third stint with the national team. Earlier, he has served the national team as a Cricket Manager during 2007 tour to Bangladesh, then as Team Director from 2014 August to 2016 June during which India won Test overseas series versus Sri Lanka. During his tenure as Team Director, the team also reached the semi-finals of 2015 World Cup and World T20 semi-finals in 2016.
48. Mithali Raj shattered record, became first player to score 6000 runs in women’s ODI cricket
Indian captain Mithali Raj scripted history on 12 July 2017 as she became the only female cricketer to surpass the 6000 run mark in One-Day Internationals (ODI).
Mithali overtook Charlotte Edwards (5992) after scoring her 34th run against Australia in Bristol. The 34-year-old reached the landmark in her 183rd ODI, taking 164 innings - 16 less than Edwards.
49. Veteran Bollywood actor Shashi Kapoor died at 79
Veteran Bollywood actor of the 70s Shashi Kapoor passed away on 4 December 2015 following a prolonged illness at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai. He was 79.
Born on 18 March 1938 to film actor Prithviraj Kapoor, Shashi Kapoor hit the theatre at the age of four. He acted in plays directed and produced by his father.
He began his acting career as a child artiste in Raj Kapoor's films ‘Aag’ and ‘Awara’ in the late '40s. Shashi Kapoor was known for his line 'Mere Paas Maa Hai'.
As a leading man, Kapoor made his debut in 1961 in Yash Chopra film 'Dharamputra', a film that remains relevant till date with its portrayal of the Partition and communalism.
Some of his unforgettable films are "Deewar", Waqt, Jab Jab Phool Khile, Kanyadaan, Sharmilee, Kabhie Kabhie, "Namak Halal", Satyam Shivam Sundaram and others. He also worked in some offbeat films like ‘Chaar Diwari’ and ‘Prem Patra’.
50. Veteran actor Om Puri died at 66
Om Puri, the veteran actor of Bollywood, died on 5 January 2017 in Mumbai. He passed away after a massive heart attack. He was 66.
Born on 18 October 1950, Puri appeared in commercial Indian, British, American, and Pakistani films.He also acted in art films and independent films.
He studied at the Film and Television Institute of India as well as the National School of Drama.He made his film debut with the Marathi film Ghashiram Kotwal (1976).
Hailing from Ambala, Haryana, Om Puri, was a recipient of Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India as well as Order of the British Empire (OBE).
