 India’s first university for transgender community will be opened in Fazilnagar block of Kushinagar district in Uttar Pradesh. It is the first of its kind University in country, where transgender community members will be able to get education. |
| The university is being built by Akhil Bhartiya Kinnar Siksha Seva Trust (All-India transgender education service trust). The university will facilitate its members to study right from class 1 to Post Graduate (PG) and even do research and get PhD degree. Members of the transgender community will get education and will be able to give a new direction to the country. From 15 January 2020, two children who are brought up by community members will get admission and from February and March 2020 other classes will start. |
 Centre government is planning to revamp ‘All India Radio’ officially known as ‘Akashvani’ by introducing Digital Radio in India by 2024, when the country will be technologically-equipped for it. The announcement in this regard was made by Union Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister Prakash Javadekar at the 2019 Akashvani Annual Awards in New Delhi. |
| Significance All India Radio is an institution which is a part of people’s lives in form of music, news or entertainment and with AIR news commanding huge credibility, as being one of the largest news gathering and dissemination apparatus in world, there is a needs for AIR to stay ahead of competition from private players. Therefore, once Digital Radio is launch by 2024, there will be more clarity as the audio of digital radio will be more clear, and with digital radio having higher reach Akashvani will be heard for longer range. There will also be four times more stations. |
| About All India Radio (AIR) AIR was established in 1936 and is officially known as Akashvani since 1956. It is the national public radio broadcaster of India and is a division of Prasar Bharati, which is India’s largest public broadcasting agency. AIR is sister service of Prasar Bharati’s Doordarshan elevision Network. |
 South African all-rounder Vernon Philander announced international retirement from all forms of cricket after the conclusion of the upcoming Test series against England. He has played 97 matches across all three formats, taking a combined 261 wickets with 1784 runs in his international career. He also took 51 wickets in his first seven Test matches which earned him the 2012 SA Cricketer of the Year award. |
| Source: The Business Standard |
 Kamareddy district of Telangana has secured the United Nations International Children’s and Education Fund (Unicef)-2019 Award. The district has won the award for effective implementation of Swachh Bharat Mission in water sanitation and hygiene sectors. Kamareddy district was on top in the country among other districts in construction of individual sanitary lavatories, swachh darpan wall paintings, swachh survekshan, swachh sundar shouchalay and many other activities. |
| Source: The Hindu |
 Indian skipper Virat Kohli is one of the five players named in the Wisden Cricketers of the Decade. Kohli, who has scored 5,775 more international runs than anyone else in the last 10 years, has arguably been the best batsman over the last decade. Kohli joins Australian batsman Steve Smith, and South Africans, Dale Steyn, and AB de Villiers. Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry is the only female cricketer in the list. |
| Source: The Hindu |
 Niranjan Hiranandani has taken over as the new president of The Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (Assocham), the country’s apex organisation of industry and trade. He will succeed Balkrishan Goenka, the Welspun Group Chairman. Niranjan Hiranandani is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of the Hiranandani Group of Companies. |
| Source: The Business Standard |
 Abhinav Lohan has won the Bengaluru Open Golf Championship 2019 powered by Karnataka Tourism. This was Lohan’s first title on the TATA Steel PGTI. Karandeep Kochhar finished the championship as runner up. With the victory, Lohan has become the 4th Indian golfer to register his maiden title on the TATA Steel PGTI. Abhinav Lohan was part of the Indian team that won the silver medal at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou. |
| Source: The News On AIR |
 NITI Aayog, the policy think tank of Government will launch the second edition of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index and Dashboard 2019–20 on 30 December 2019 at NITI Aayog, New Delhi. The first edition of SDG India Index was launched in December 2018. It was the first tool developed by any large country to monitor progress towards achieving SDGs at sub-national level. NITI Aayog has the mandate of overseeing adoption as well as monitoring of SDGs in India, at the national and sub-national level. |
| About SDG India Index and Dashboard 2019–20 The SDG India Index and Dashboard 2019 documents the progress made by India’s States and Union Territories (UTs) towards implementing the 2030 SDG targets. Besides indicating where the States and UTs currently are on SDG implementation, the Index and Dashboard also charts distance to be travelled to reach SDG targets. It has been developed by Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in collaboration with United Nations in India, and Global Green Growth Institute. Index and Dashboard 2019 covers 16 out of 17 SDGs and a qualitative assessment on Goal 17. This marks an improvement over 2018 Index, which covered only 13 goals. On the basis of progress made, the Index ranks all States and UTs on 100 indicators drawn from MoSPI’s National Indicator Framework, comprising of 306 indicators. |
 The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the transfer of administrative control of Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited (BCPL), the Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) implementing Assam Gas Cracker Project (AGCP) from Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals (under Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers) to Union Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MOP&NG). |
| Other CCCEA Approval CCEA also approved feedstock subsidy to BCPL for 15 years of plant operation for maintaining minimum Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 10% (after tax). To bring IRR to 10%, BCPL has estimated feedstock subsidy of approximately Rs.4600 crore for project for 15 years of plant operation. Therefore, BCPL will submit proposal on yearly basis from next financial year (2020-2021) onwards and administrative Ministry/ Department will devise a mechanism to examine proposal in consultation with Union Ministry of Finance. Union Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas will have to make firm arrangements through concerned PSUs for supply of committed quantity and quality of feedstock to AGC project as envisaged in earlier CCEA approval of 2006. |
| About Assam Gas Cracker Project (AGCP) The project came as part of historic Assam Accord signed on 15 August 1985, with a view to bring socioeconomic development of region, thus it is seen as a part of implementation of Assam accord. It and involves setting up of facilities for manufacture of 2 lakh tonnes of ethylene annually using gas as feedstock. It is the first petrochemical project in the northeastern region of country. The 1st phase of long-delayed project was commissioned in late 2015. The Rs.9,285-crore project is the first petrochemical project in the northeastern region of country and would give impetus to development of region as well as will improve the socio economic conditions of people of Assam through increased employment. |
 Union Cabinet has given its approval for signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Republic of India and Federative Republic of Brazil on Bioenergy Cooperation. |
| Background In 2016, during the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of Brazil in India, the two sides agreed to cooperate on research and development (R&D) of renewable energies, and in field of 2nd-generation biofuels. Therefore, in this regard, an MoU was also signed between two sides to provides a framework to cooperate as well as to promote investment in biofuel, bioelectricity and biogas supply-chains including industrial conversion, feedstock, distribution and end use sectors. |
| India-Brazil Energy Demand Brazil is one of the most important trading partners of India in entire Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region. Both countries are also major consumers of energy in world. Brazil is currently world’s 2nd largest producer and consumer of biofuels. Moreover, biofuels and bioelectricity accounts for 18% of Brazil’s energy mix. India having strong focus in area of bio-fuels, has set a target to achieve 20% blending of ethanol in petrol and 5% blending of biodiesel in diesel by 2030. For this purpose India has also announced new policy on Biofuels in 2018. |
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