CSMT gets 'Eat Right' station certificate

Iconic Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) railway station in Mumbai has been conferred with Eat Right Station' certificate with the five-star rating by the FSSAI for food safety and hygiene.

CSMT is the first station on the Central Railway to get this certification.

Virat Kohli named in Wisden cricketers of the decade list

Indian skipper Virat Kohli is one of the five players named in the Wisden Cricketers of the Decade list.

Along with Kohli, the other four cricketers are -Steve Smith, Dale Steyn, AB de Villiers, and Ellyse Perry.

Kohli, who has scored 5,775 more international runs than anyone else in this decade.

Virat Kohli was also named as the captain of the Wisden Test Team of the decade.

Kamareddy wins UNICEF-2019 Award for Swachh Bharat implementation

Kamareddy district of Telangana has secured the United Nations International Children's and Education Fund (UNICEF)-2019 Award.

The district won the award for the effective implementation of Swachh Bharat Mission in water sanitation.

Kamareddy district was on top in the country among other districts in construction of individual sanitary lavatories, swachh darpan wall paintings, swachh survekshan, swachh sunder shouchalay and many other activities.

GoI launched 'Good Governance Index': Tamil Nadu tops

The government of India has released the 'Good Governance Index' on the occasion of Good Governance Day.

The states and UTs are divided into three groups namely Big States, North-East & Hill States, and Union Territories.

Among the 'Big States', Tamil Nadu topped the Good Governance Index. It was followed by Maharastra, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. The poor performers are Odisha, Bihar, Goa and Uttar Pradesh with Jharkhand finishing last in the group.

In the 'North-East & Hill States', Himachal Pradesh topped the index, followed by Uttarakhand, Tripura, Mizoram, and Sikkim. The worst performers in this group are Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, with Arunachal Pradesh finishing last in the group.

In the 'Union Territories', Puducherry topped the index followed by Chandigarh and Delhi.

Tamil Nadu topped the Good Governance Index launched by the Centre on Wednesday. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh followed among the ‘Big States’.The worst performer in this group is Lakshwadeep.

The GGI is also ranked based on ten sectors. These ten Governance Sectors are measured on a total of 50 indicators. The 10 sectors are:

Sector-wise ranking:

1. Agriculture and Allied Sectors: Under this sector, Madhya Pradesh ranked first followed by Rajasthan (2nd) and Chhattisgarh(3rd) in the big states category. Mizoram ranked 1st in the northeast category and Daman and Diu ranked 1st in the UT category.
2. Commerce & Industries: Under this sector, Jharkhand ranked 1st in big states category, followed by Andhra Pradesh (2nd) and Telangana (3rd). Uttarkhand ranked 1st in 'North-East & Hill States' and Delhi ranked 1st in the UT category.
3. Human Resource Development - Under this sector, Goa ranked 1st in big states category, Himachal Pradesh ranked 1st in Northeast category and Pondicherry ranked 1st in UTs.
4. Public Health - Under this sector, Kerala ranked 1st followed by TN and Goa in big states category. Manipur and Pondicherry ranked 1st each in northeast and UTs respectively.
5. Public Infrastructure: Under this sector, TN ranked 1st followed by Gujarat and Punjab in big states category. HP and Chandigarh topped in the northeast and UTs respectively.
6. Economic Governance: Under this sector, Karnataka ranked 1st followed by Maharastra, Telangana, Gujarat, and TN in big states category.
7. Social Welfare & Development:  Chattisgarh topped in the social welfare & development sector in big states. Meghalaya topped in the Northeast category and Daman & Diu topped in UTs category.
8. Judicial & Public Security: TN topped followed by Kerala and Chattisgarh in big states. HP topped the northeast and hill states. Pondicherry topped in UTs category.
9. Environment: West Bangal topped in big states followed by Kerala and TN. J&K topped in northeast and Chandigarh topped in UTs category.
10. Citizen-Centric Governance: This sector was not included in the scoring and ranking purposes.

PM Modi launched Atal Bhujal Yojana

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched Atal Bhujal Yojana (ATAL JAL), a scheme for sustainable management of groundwater resources, in New Delhi.

The scheme was launched on the occasion of the 95th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The aim of the scheme is to improve groundwater management. The improvement will be done through community participation in identified priority areas in 7 states. The 7 states include Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, MP, Maharastra, Rajasthan and UP.

The Scheme will benefit nearly 8350 Gram Panchayats in 78 districts of the above mentioned 7 states.

The Government has outlaid Rs. 6000 crore for the scheme. Out of a total of Rs. 6000 crore to be implemented over a period of 5 years (2020-21 to 2024-25), 50% will be given by World Bank as a loan which will be repaid by Central Government. The remaining 50% will be obtained through Central Assistance from regular budgetary support.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the 2nd edition of Eat Right Mela

Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, has inaugurated the 2nd edition of the 'Eat Right Mela' at Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi.

The event was organized by FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) along with the National Association of Street Vendors of India.

Mela is an initiative to nudge citizens towards eating right and adopt safe, healthy and sustainable food practices and habits.

The theme of the event is the 'Healthier Diet'.

The Union Minister launched 'The PURPLE Book' a handbook on diets for diseases. The book provides general guidelines for hospitals on suitable diets for common medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, cancer, gut disorders and so on in a simple format and has been developed and vetted by experts in the field of food and nutrition.

PM Modi unveiled Atal Bihari Vajpayee statue in Lucknow

Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a statue of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Lok Bhawan in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. 

He also laid the foundation stone for the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Medical University in the Uttar Pradesh capital.

The government led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has given 50 acres to set up the institute.

Niranjan Hiranandani takes over as Assocham president

Niranjan Hiranandani has taken over as the new president of the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (Assocham), the country's apex organization of industry and trade.

He will replace Balkrishan Goenka, the Welspun Group Chairman.

Niranjan Hiranandani is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of the Hiranandani Group of Companies.

MS Dhoni named captain of CA's ODI team of the decade

Veteran wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni has been named as the captain of Cricket Australia's ODI team of the decade.

Indian skipper Virat Kohli and opener Rohit Sharma were also named in the captain of Cricket Australia's ODI team of the decade.

Virat Kohli was also named as the captain of CA's Test team of the decade. Kohli is the only Indian to feature in CA's all-time test side of the decade.

CA's ODI team of the decade: Rohit Sharma, Hashim Amla, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Shakib Al Hasan, Jos Buttler, MS Dhoni, Mitchell Starc, Trent Boult, Lasith Malinga, Rashid Khan.

Renowned Hindi author Ganga Prasad passes away

Renowned Hindi author Ganga Prasad Vimal passed away in a road accident in Sri Lanka.

He was born in 1939 in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand.

Ganga Prasad was an author, translator, and professor at Jawahar Lal Nehru University.

He wrote more than a dozen poetry collections, short story collections, and novels.

His last novel, Manushakhor, was published in 2013.

He received several Hindi literary awards.

Kotak Mahindra Bank & Pine Labs tie up to facilitate EMI on debit cards

Kotak Mahindra Bank has tied up with Pine Labs to enable debit card facility for their debit cardholders across point-of-sale terminals by Pine Labs.

Banks customers can avail EMI facility with a minimum purchase of Rs 8,000 and repay over 3 months to 12 months.

Its aim is to provide affordable, flexible and easy EMI options on a range of products.

Federal Bank, Magicbricks tie-up for disposal of repossessed properties

Federal Bank has tied up with Magicbricks for listing and e-auctioning of immovable properties repossessed by a bank through recovery proceedings.

The reason behind this partnership is the speedy recovery of the bank's impaired assets while helping customers get the best rate in the market for their properties.

National Consumer Day; 24th December

National Consumer Day observed on December 24.

The objective is to highlight the importance of the consumer movement and the need to make every consumer more aware of their rights and responsibilities.

The theme of National Consumer Day 2019 is Alternate Consumer Grievance/ Dispute Redressal.

Good Governance Day: 25th December

Good Governance Day is observed annually across India on 25 December, to create awareness and of accountability in government among the Indians.

The day is observed to mark the 95th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Late Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The National Good Governance day was first established in the year 2014 as a tribute to Vajpayee who worked for good governance.