Daily News

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India climbs eight ranks to 72 in Global Talent Competitive Index

India climbed 8 positions in a year to reach rank 72 in the Global Talent Competitive Index 2020. GTCI is based on the research done by INSEAD along with The Adecco Group & Google. GTCI looks at the ability to attract, grow & retain talent by a country.

Did you Know

Switzerland, USA & Singapore took the top-3 positions.

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Sri Lanka ranks first among 97 countries in Breast Feeding support Policies and Programs

Sri Lanka has ranked first among 97 countries globally on breastfeeding rate according to a new survey conducted by the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi). Sri Lanka’s rank is based on its performance on ten indicators of policies and programs.

Did you Know

So far, 120 countries have been involved in WBTi.

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India participates in UN AIDS Programme at World Economic Forum

Union Minister of State for Shipping & Chemical & Fertilizers Mansukh Mandaviya participated in the High-level roundtable of UNAIDS-Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS-on the theme Access for all: Leveraging Innovations, Investments & Partnerships for Health.

Did you Know

Roundtable of UNAIDS was held during WEF’s annual meet in Davos.

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PM Sheikh Hasina launches e-passport facility in Bangladesh

Bangladesh launched e-passport facility for its citizens. It is the 1st country in South Asia & 119th country in the world to provide e-passport facility. e-passports will have an embedded chip which will contain the bio-metric data of the passport holder.

Did you Know

Bangladesh has faced the problem of counterfeit passports.

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India and Tunisia focus on expanding bilateral economic ties

As a part of his 3-day 2-nation trip to Niger & Tunisia, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his Tunisian counterpart Sabri Bachtobji & they discussed on expanding the bilateral economic cooperation & agreed to work closely in multilateral forums.

Did you Know

Tunisia capital-Tunis, Currency-Tunisian Dinar.

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Cabinet gives approval to EC to enter into MoU with ECs of Tunisia & Papua New Guinea

The Cabinet gave approval to Election Commission of India to enter into MoU with the Independent High Authority for Elections of Tunisia and the Papua New Guinea EC for elections for cooperation in the field of electoral management and administration.

Did you Know

Papua New Guinea Capital-Port Moresby, Currency-Kina.

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Cabinet approves over Rs 4300 Cr to establish permanent campuses for new NITs

Union Cabinet approved Revised Cost Estimates for establishment of permanent campuses of new National Institutes of Technology (NITs) at a total cost of 4371.90 Cr Rs for the period till 2021-2022. NITs were established in 2009 with very limited spaces.

Did you Know

They started functioning from academic year 2010-2011.

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Jaipur Literature Festival begins

Jaipur Literature Festival will begin on 23 January. About 500 speakers of different fields are participating in the festival, which is currently in its 13th year. The 5-day event will have 200 sessions & will be attended by 500 speakers from 20 countries.

Did you Know

Broad Themes are climate, constitution, poetry, and AI.

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Odisha Mahaotsav begins in Gujarat

In Gujarat, the 2-day Odisha Mahaotsav as a part of Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat Programme was launched. More than one lakh people from Odisha are settled in Gujarat. They will showcase the art, culture, traditions & rich heritage of Odisha in the festival.

Did you Know

Gujarat CM- Vijay Ramniklal Rupani, Odisha CM-Naveen Patnaik.

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Qatar & FIFA publishes 1st joint planning strategy ahead of the 2022 football World Cup

Qatar & FIFA published the 1st jointly issued legacy planning strategy ahead of the 2022 football World Cup. It contains pledges on labour and LGBT rights alongside protections for activists & journalists. A total of 22 objectives is described in detail.

Did you Know

LGBT stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender.

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Curtain comes down on 3rd Khelo India Youth Games

3rd Khelo India Youth Games concluded in Guwahati. Maharashtra won the champions trophy, while Haryana and Delhi bagged the first runner up and second runner up trophies respectively. Events were held to mark the 70th year of the India-China friendship.

Did you Know

Union Sports Minister-Kiren Rijiju, Assam CM-Sarbananda Sonowal.

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India falls to 51st position in EIU's Democracy Index

India slipped 10 places to 51st position in the 2019 Democracy Index's global ranking, according to Economist Intelligence Unit, which cited "erosion of civil liberties" in the country as the primary cause for the downtrend. India's overall score is 6.90.

Did you Know

Norway topped the list while North Korea is at the bottom.

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Cabinet approves agreement, MoUs with Brazil

Union Cabinet approved agreements & MoUs to be signed with Brazil including mutual legal assistance in criminal matters. Nod came ahead of the visit of Brazilian President Jair Messias Bolsonaro who will be the chief guest during the Republic Day parade.

Did you Know

Also accepted MoU on cooperation in oil & natural gas sectors.

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Manoj Kohli appointed as SoftBank India head

SoftBank India has appointed Manoj Kohli as its country head. Kohli joins SoftBank India after a five-year stint as a chairman with SB Energy, the renewable energy arm of SoftBank. Raman Nanda will retain the role of CEO at SB Energy.

Did you Know

SoftBank Group/CEO-Masayoshi Son

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PhonePe launches International Travel Insurance in digital payment platform space

Phone Pe has announced its launch of international travel insurance in collaboration with Bajaj Allianz General insurance. PhonePe’s Travel Insurance is providing benefits such as a high sum insured of up to $1 mn., special pricing starting at just Rs 216.

Did you Know

Hemant Gala,Head Payments, Banking & Financial Services, PhonePe

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Jessica Andrews wins £10k Portico Prize for debut Saltwater

Jessica Andrews has won the £10,000 Portico Prize for Literature for her debut novel Saltwater (Sceptre), described as "a tender tribute to women across generations and an important exploration of women’s lives today".

Did you Know

The Portico Prize was established in 1985 by The Portico Library