NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Two Integrated Processing Units of Sikkim
IFFCO to come up: Sikkim Chief Minister, Prem Singh Tamang laid
down the foundation stone of two Integrated Processing Units of Sikkim Indian
Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Organics Limited, SIFFCO in Rangpo, East Sikkim.
Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar was
also present on this occasion as the chief guest. Sikkim IFFCO Organics Limited
is a joint venture between the world's biggest fertilizer Cooperative, IFFCO,
and Government of Sikkim. Its aim is to promote and market the organic produce
of the country and especially from Sikkim and other north-eastern states of
India. The major commercial crops in which Sikkim IFFCO will operate are
ginger, turmeric, large cardamom, and buckwheat.
Note: Governor
of Sikkim: Ganga Prasad.
2. IIT Hyderabad launches India’s first mobile
vaccination clinic in Pune: A vaccine on wheels
clinic, a first-of-its-kind service in India called ‘VaccineOnWheels.com’ was launched in Pune by Jignesh Patel, who is
a fellow at the Center for Healthcare Entrepreneurship (CfHe) at IIT Hyderabad.
There are many features which makes it a unique vaccination service, including providing
low-cost vaccination service to the low-income group of the population,
creating awareness for government’s immunisation programme and selling only
those vaccines which are not provided through the government agencies and
compliance with cold chain maintenance as per WHO guidelines with
state-of-the-art equipment.
3. Integral Coach Factory produces 3000 Coaches
in record 215 days: Integral Coach Factory (ICF) of Indian Railways
has produced its 3000 Coaches in record 215 days. The 64-year-old production
unit beat its own record by reducing the number of working days to achieve the
target of making 3,000 coaches in 289 days in 2018-19 to 215 days this year and
retained its position as the largest coach- maker in the world.
Note:
Headquarters of Integral Coach Factory: Chennai, Tamil Nadu; Established: 2nd
October 1955.
4. Vice President releases the book “Turbulence
and Triumph: The Modi Years”: The Vice
President of India Shri M Venkaiah Naidu has released the book “Turbulence and
Triumph: The Modi Years” at Uparashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. The book was
written by Rahul Agarwal and Bharti S Pradhan and is published by Om Books
International. It is a pictorial book which traces the journey of Narendra Modi
from his days as a young boy from Vadnagar in Gujarat to New Delhi’s 7, Lok
Kalyan Marg as the 14th prime minister of India. It is replete with anecdotes
from family, friends, colleagues, associates, testimonials of leaders from
India and the world across party lines.
5. Virat Kohli tops Forbes India’s 2019 Celebrity
list: With Rs 252.72 crore in annual earnings, India's
ace cricketer Virat Kohli has become the first sportsman to gain the top spot
in the Forbes India list in eight years since the launch of the Forbes India
Celebrity 100 List. Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar jumped one spot to the second
rank, with total earnings of Rs 293.25 crore, a jump of 58.51 per cent from the
previous year. Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, who had ruled at the top for
the previous three years, slipped down to the third position in 2019.
"Gully
Boy" actress Alia Bhatt broke into the Top 10 on the Forbes India
Celebrity 100 list at the 8th spot followed by Deepika Padukone at number 10-
the first time ever that two women are in the Top 10.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. India constructs Girls’ Hostel for Nepal Armed
Police Force: The Govt. of India has constructed Girls’ Hostel
for Nepal Armed Police Force School, Kirtipur, Nepal. Deputy Chief of Mission,
Embassy of India, Dr Ajay Kumar inaugurated hostel building. Nepal Armed Police
Force (APF) School is an academic institution created under the APF Welfare
Service Centre of Nepal Armed Police Force. The school was established in 2005
and it has over 21 per cent of girls students. The new infrastructure
constructed with the Government of India’s grant assistance of 40.42 million
Nepali Rupees is a two-storied girls’ hostel. It comprises 32 rooms including a
dormitory, warden room, bathroom, sanitation facilities for girls on each floor
and furniture.
Note: Nepal
Prime Minister: K P Sharma Oli; Capital: Kathmandu; President: Bidhya Devi
Bhandari; Currency: Nepalese rupee.
2. Ecuador declares emergency after fuel spill in
Galapagos Islands: Ecuador has declared an emergency to contain the
environmental impact of a fuel spill in the Galapagos Islands, after a barge
carrying 600 gallons of diesel fuel sank. The Islands are located 1,000
kilometers east of mainland Ecuador. The accident occurred when a crane
collapsed while loading a container onto the barge. The falling container
destabilized the ship, causing it to sink. Latin American Galapagos
archipelago, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is home to one of the most fragile
ecosystems on the planet.
3. Eight West African countries rename common
currency to Eco: The eight West African countries namely- Ivory
Coast, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, Niger, Senegal, Togo, and Guinea-Bissau have
agreed to change the name of their common currency from ‘CFA franc’ to ‘Eco’
after they jointly severed the CFA franc’s links to former colonial ruler
France. The announcement was made during a visit by French President Emmanuel
Macron to Ivory Coast, who hailed the decision as a historic reform. Even
though the deal took six months in making, common currency Eco will see the
light of day in 2020. These countries currently use 'CFA franc' as their
currency. All these countries, except Guinea-Bissau, are former French
colonies.
4. India-Iran 19th Joint Commission meeting held
in Iran: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar co-chaired
the 19th Joint Commission meeting with Foreign Minister of Iran. The Joint
Commission meeting was held in Tehran, Iran. The meeting reviewed the entire
gamut of the cooperation and agreed to accelerate work on the strategic
Chabahar project. The Chabahar port is jointly being developed by India, Iran
and Afghanistan. It is located on the Indian Ocean in the Sistan and
Baluchestan province of Iran.
Note: Iran
Capital: Tehran; Currency: Rial; President: Hassan Rouhani.
5. Monisha Ghosh named 1st woman CTO at FCC in
US: Indian-American Dr Monisha Ghosh has been
appointed as the first woman Chief Technology Officer at the US government’s
powerful Federal Communications Commission (FCC). She will advise
Indian-American Chairman of the FCC Ajit Pai and the agency on technology and
engineering issues, and work closely with the Office of Engineering and
Technology. Dr Ghosh will take charge on January 13. She replaces Dr Eric
Burger.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. Maisnam Meiraba Luwang wins Bangladesh Junior
International Badminton Series: India's
shuttler Maisnam Meiraba Luwang has won the Men's singles Bangladesh Junior
International Badminton Series 2019 in Dhaka. Top-seeded Meiraba, who hails
from Manipur, beat Ken Yong Ong 21, 14, 21-18 in the final lasting 38 minutes.
Meiraba had defeated another Malaysian, M Fazriq Mohamad Razif, in the
semifinals. Meiraba had also clinched the boys' singles U-19 title at the
Woncheon Yonex Korea Junior Open International Challenge last month.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1. Anand Mahindra to step down as Mahindra Group
Executive Chairman: Mahindra Group has annouced that Anand Mahindra
will step down as Executive Chairman from April 1, 2020. Pawan Goenka will be re-designated as
Managing Director and Chief Executive from April 1. This is in accordance with the Sebi
guidelines. However, Anand Mahindra will continue to serve as Non-Executive
Chairman of the company.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1. Malayali boy Aditya bags top bravery award: Aditya K. of Ramanattukara, Kozhikode, has become the first child
from the State to bag the Bharat Award for bravery. The most prestigious of the
National Bravery Awards, given away by the Indian Council for Child Welfare,
the Bharat Award has gone to Aditya for rescuing 20 people from a burning bus
that was on the move. Two more children from the State are also recipients of
the awards. Muhammed Mohsin has been given the award posthumously for saving
the lives of three children. Fatah gets the award for rescuing a woman and a
girl from an approaching train. Both belong to Kozhikode.
Note: Chief
Minister of Kerala: Pinarayi Vijayan; Governor of Kerala: Arif Mohammad Khan;
Capital of Kerala: Thiruvananthapuram.
2. Indian Archaeologist honoured in Bangladesh: Noted archaeologist R. Nagaswamy was honoured at the Silver Jubilee
International Conference of Art in Dhaka by Bangladesh Culture Minister K.M.
Khalid. He is an Indian historian, archaeologist and epigraphist. He served as
the founder-director of Tamilnadu Archaeology Department. In 2018 he was
awarded India’s third highest civilian award Padma Bhushan.
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