In Android Studio select:
File\Settings\Build, Execution, Deployment\Build tools\Gradle
click on the button on the right side showing local gradle distribution path.
you will be taken to the gradle folder.
click ok in this dialog box and your path will be updated!
restart android studio and you are good to go!
The Problem:
in my case path selected after the update was of older version e.g:
C:/Program Files/Android/Android Studio/gradle/gradle-2.4
However, after the update it was changed to:
C:/Program Files/Android/Android Studio/gradle/gradle-2.8
P.S:
This solution also resolves following error:
buildTypes cannot be applied to groovy.lang.Closure