World Day of War Orphans
On 6 January every year, World Day of War Orphans is celebrated to create awareness about the plight of war orphans and to address the traumatic conditions faced by them.
Varanasi Cantt Railway Station awarded ‘Eat Right Station’ with a certification by FSSAI
- The Varanasi Cantt railway station has been awarded a 5-star ‘Eat Right Station’ certification by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for providing quality and nutritious food to passengers.
- The “Eat Right Station” certification is awarded by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to the railway stations that set benchmarks (as per the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006) in providing safe and wholesome food to passengers.
- FSSAI is an autonomous statutory body established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, of 2006. The stations are awarded a certificate following the completion of an FSSAI-empanelled third-party audit.
India & France hold 36th Strategic Dialogue in New Delhi
- India and France held the 36th Strategic Dialogue in New Delhi.
- The two sides discussed a wide range of bilateral and global issues.
- National Security Advisor Ajit Doval led the Indian delegation while the French delegation was led by Emmanuel Bonne, Diplomatic Advisor to the French President.
- The last edition of the Strategic Dialogue was to be held in Paris in November 2021.
Dharmendra Pradhan chaired the 3rd meeting of the steering committee of the National Skill Development Mission
- Minister of Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan has chaired the third meeting of the Steering Committee of the National Skill Development Mission in New Delhi.
- The progress made in the skill development efforts and the road map ahead were discussed in the meeting.
- The minister also discussed various issues such as convergence of skill development schemes, skill gap analysis and skill mapping, connecting Indian youth to global opportunities, developing a curriculum to reflect emerging trends, etc.
Health Minister chaired a high-level meeting to eliminate Kala-azar from the country by 2023
- Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has chaired a high-level meeting to review the status of Kala-Azar disease in the four endemic states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.
- Chaired a meeting with State Health Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal & Jharkhand to review the progress of elimination of Kala Azar disease in these States.
- During the high-level meeting, the Union Health Minister assured the Centre’s complete support in the fight against eliminating the life-threatening disease by 2023.
Narendra Tomar inaugurated ‘North East Krishi Kumbha-2023’
- Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar has inaugurated the three-day ‘North East Krishi Kumbha-2023’ in Meghalaya.
- He also participated in the 49th Foundation Day celebration of the ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam.
- Tomar also presented awards to several progressive farmers to recognize and encourage their contributions to the development of agriculture.
G20 Foreign ministers to meet in Delhi in March 2023
- The foreign ministers of the Group of Twenty (G20) countries are set to meet in New Delhi in March 2023.
- India assumed the Presidency of the G20 starting in December 2022.
- The 43 Heads of Delegations- the largest ever in G20-will be participating in the final New Delhi Summit in September next year.
- India’s special invitee guest countries are Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain, and UAE.
First G-20 meeting is to take place in Puducherry on Jan 31
- Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan said that the first G-20 meeting will be held in Puducherry on January 31.
- The Lt Governor released stickers, badges, and posters with the G20 logo and also inaugurated a selfie booth in the presence of Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy at an event.
- Representatives of different countries will participate in the meeting and many important decisions will be taken.
- These programs will be organized in different parts of the country in different segments. Kolkata will host the first meeting on the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion.
50 ASI-protected monuments disappear
- 50 of India’s 3,693 centrally protected monuments have gone untraceable, which flagged a matter of grave concern.
- The report titled ‘Issues relating to Untraceable Monuments and Protection of Monuments in India’ was submitted to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism, and Culture on December 8.
ICICI Bank launched digital solutions for exporters
- Private lender ICICI Bank has launched a range of digital solutions to streamline the lifecycle of exports.
- Objective – To simplify the journey of exporters by decongesting the current time-intensive manual procedures
- The rationale behind the launch is to streamline several manual procedures and compliances for exporters and improve their operational efficiency.
Jalna and Nagpur Police won the ‘Best Police Unit’ award
- Jalna district police and Nagpur city police in Maharashtra have bagged the ‘Best Police Unit’ awards for 2021 in the state.
- The award has been given under different classes for maintaining law and order and evolving community policing and administration.
- The Jalna police got the award in ‘Class A’ and the Nagpur police in ‘Class B’, as per the winners by Additional Director General of Police (law and order) Kulwant Sarangal.
Dr Tapan Saikia received Assam’s highest civilian award ‘AssamBaibhav’
- Mumbai-based physician Dr Tapan Saikia has been honoured with the highest state civilian award, ‘Assam Baibhav’, for his contribution to cancer treatment.
- Assam Saurav (Assam’s second-highest civilian award) has been conferred to Krishna Roy; Gilbertson Sangma; Nayanmoni Saikia; Dr Binoi Kumar Saikia and Dr. Shashidhar Phukan.
- AsomGaurav (third highest civilian award) has been conferred to 15 people.
