 Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban has achieved its target of creating Urban India Open Defecation Free. Urban areas of 35 states and Union Territories have become ODF. In all, 4,320 cities out of 4,372 have declared themselves ODF, of which 4,167 cities have been certified through third-party verification. This has been achieved by the construction of nearly 65.81 lakh individual household toilets against Mission target of 59 lakhs and 5.89 lakh seats of public toilets against Mission target of 5.08 lakh seats. |
| Source: The News on AIR |
 Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group, has taken over as the President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) for 2019-20. She succeeds Sandip Somany, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, HSIL. President of The Walt Disney Company APAC & Chairman of Star & Disney India, Uday Shankar has been elevated as Senior Vice President of FICCI. Similarly, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), Sanjiv Mehta was appointed as the Vice President of FICCI. |
| Source: The Hindu |
 Senior diplomat Harsh Vardhan Shringla, India’s Ambassador to the US, has been appointed as the new Foreign Secretary. He is a 1984-batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service. He will take over the charge of the foreign secretary on January 29 from incumbent Vijay Gokhale. The appointment has been cleared by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. |
| Source: The News on AIR |
 Bank of Baroda signed an MoU with the Gujarat government to facilitate the flow of credit in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector. As per the agreement, the credit will be provided to the MSME for greenfield projects, startups, women entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs from backward areas under the Gujarat Single Window Clearance Act 2017 & Ordinance Number 1 of 2019 dated October 24, 2019. |
| Source: The Times of India |
 The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) conducted a two-day regional level pollution response exercise named ‘Swachchh Samundra NW-2019’ at sea off Vadinar in Gulf of Kutch. The exercise was conducted to validate and reinforce the response mechanism for oil pollution incidents and enable the Indian Coast Guard to fine-tune the actions required in such eventualities. The exercise was conducted in two phases. The Gulf of Kutch (GoK) region handles 70 per cent of the oil imported by India and 11 Single Point Moorings (SPMs) out of total 27 SPM. |
| Source: The Business Standard |
 Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM) system developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was successfully flight-tested from Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the Odisha coast. The missile was flight-tested with the full configuration in deployment mode intercepting the target mid-air, meeting the mission objectives. With this mission, the developmental trials of the weapon system are successfully completed and the weapon system is expected to be ready for induction by 2021. The QRSAM weapon system, which operates on the move, comprises of fully automated Command and Control System, Active Array Battery Surveillance Radar, Active Array Battery Multifunction Radar and Launcher. |
| Source: The News on AIR |
 Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy launched the ‘YSR Nethanna Nestham’ scheme at Dharmavaram in Anantapur district. Under the scheme, the state government of Andhra Pradesh will provide financial assistance of Rs 24,000 annually to handloom weavers across the state. |
| Source: The News on AIR |
 Rajasthan Chief Minister inaugurated its first “Janta clinic” at in the Malviya Nagar area of Jaipur. This clinic open to provide free primary health care to people living in slums. In its first phase, 12 Janta Clinics will be opened in Jaipur where people would get free medicines and free medical examination in some cases. Later, in the second and third phases of this scheme, Janta Clinics will be opened in other areas. |
| Source: The Indian Express |
 Kisan Diwas or National Farmers’ Day is observed across India on December 23. The day honours Chaudhary Charan Singh, the 5th Prime Minister of India whose was born on this day. It was in the year 2001, the Government of India decided to observe December 23 every year as Kisan Diwas. Kisan Diwas is being celebrated every year to promote awareness among people about the importance of the farmers to the society and overall economic and social development of the country. Chaudhary Charan Singh introduced a slew of policies to improve the lives and conditions of farmers in the country. He also played a leading role in the agricultural sector of the country by introducing bills for farmers’ reforms. |
| Source: The News18 |
 Renowned Hindustani classical vocalist Vidushi Savita Devi has passed away. She was known for her thumirs. She was the author of the book ‘Maa…Siddheshwari’ which was the biography of her mother Siddeshwari Devi. She was also the head of the music department at Daulat Ram College under Delhi University for many years. |
| Source: The Economic Times |
You need to login to perform this action.
You will be redirected in
3 sec
