Five must-read stories—December 20

Cyrus Mistry steps down as director of Tata group firms

Cyrus Mistry, in a surprise move on Monday, resigned from the boards of all publicly listed companies of the Tata group after a bitter, eight-week boardroom battle against Ratan Tata’s ‘illegal coup to unceremoniously remove’ him as the chairman of Tata Sons on October 24. However, he is gearing up for a long-drawn legal battle, reports The Hindu.

'On November 8, RBI had only ₹4.94 lakh cr in ₹2,000 notes'

On the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced scrapping of ₹1,000 and ₹500 notes, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had only ₹4.94 lakh crore in ₹2,000 notes, a Right to Information (RTI) response from RBI said. Surprisingly, RBI withheld information about distribution of currency notes to banks between November 9 and November 19. A PTI report in The Business Standard.

Justice JS Khehar appointed as 44th Chief Justice of India

The President on Monday appointed Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar as the 44th Chief Justice of India from January 4, 2017, reports The Hindu. Justice Khehar will have a tenure for over seven months till August 28, 2017. He assumed office as a judge of the Supreme Court on September 13, 2011.

Anti-riot police officer shoots dead Russian ambassador at Turkey art gallery

A Turkish policeman fatally shot Russia’s ambassador to Turkey on Monday in front of a shocked gathering at a photo exhibit. The leaders of Turkey and Russia said the attack in Ankara, the Turkish capital, was an attempt to disrupt efforts to repair ties between their countries, which have backed opposing sides in the Syrian civil war. An AP report in The Hindustan Times.

Swiss notes are landing in Kolkata

Demonetisation is bringing boxfuls of notes from Switzerland to Kolkata, but it's not the famed black money from Swiss banks. Eighteen chartered cargo planes from Zurich have landed in the city in the past two-and-a-half months carrying blank watermarked notes that are being printed at the currency press in Salboni, West Midnapore, reports The Telegraph.