News in Short

• Researchers have found that reducing the consumption of food kept in aluminum packaging can minimize potential health risks.
• A high intake of aluminum compounds can cause, among other things, neurotoxic developmental disorders as well as damage the kidneys, liver, and bones.
• They advised against the preparation and storage of, in particular, acidic and salty foods in uncoated aluminum articles or aluminum foil. 

• P.V. Sindhu was adjudged the Sportstar of the Year and Kapil Dev honoured for Lifetime Achievement at the Sportstar Aces Awards.
• Rohit Sharma was chosen the Sportsman of the Year (Cricket) for a hugely successful year, when he finished the top run-scorer at the World Cup.
• Smriti Mandhana emerged the Sportswoman of the Year (Cricket). The Chairman’s Choice Award went to Australian batsman Steve Smith for his remarkable performance in the Ashes.

• ISRO will launch a communication satellite GSAT-30 on-board the Ariane-5 launch vehicle (VA 251) from French Guiana on January 17.
• GSAT-30 is to serve as a replacement to INSAT-4A spacecraft services with enhanced coverage.
• The satellite provides Indian mainland and islands coverage in Ku-band and extended coverage in C-band covering Gulf countries, a large number of Asian countries and Australia.
• With a mission life of 15 years, GSAT-30 is an operational communication satellite for DTH, television uplink and VSAT services

• The government has appointed Michael Debaprata Patra as the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• The appointment of Patra, who is currently an executive director at the central bank, comes nearly six months after former deputy governor Viral Acharya’s pre-mature resignation.
• Patra will serve as the deputy governor for three years from the time of his appointment.

• The Kerala government has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Citizenship Amendment Act and has sought to declare it as ultra vires the Constitution.
• The Kerala government has sought to declare that the CAA 2019 is violative of Article 14 (Equality before law), 21 (Protection of life and personal liberty) and 25 (Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice, and propagation of religion) of the Constitution as well as violative of the basic principle of secularism enshrined in it.
• The Kerala Assembly earlier had moved a resolution against the recently amended citizenship law that grants citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, living in India.