By: D.K Chaudhary
1. Nation Celebrates Kisan Diwas- 23rd December
i. Kisan Diwas (Farmer’s Day) is observed every year on 23 December to celebrate the birth anniversary of the fifth prime minister of India Chaudhary Charan Singh.
ii. He was the PM of India for a very short tenure starting from 28th of July 1979 until 14th January 1980. A Kisan leader, Late Chaudhary Charan Singh belonged to a peasant family.
ii. He was the PM of India for a very short tenure starting from 28th of July 1979 until 14th January 1980. A Kisan leader, Late Chaudhary Charan Singh belonged to a peasant family.
2. Russia’s Deputy PM Dmitry Rogozin Visits India
i. Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin arrived in New Delhi. He will co-chair the meeting of India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC).
ii. The External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will host Mr. Rogozin and lead the Indian side. The meeting will enable the two sides to review the progress achieved by various working groups and sub-groups under the IRIGC-TEC.
- Russia Capital- Moscow, President- Vladimir Putin.
3. Government Launched ‘Ganga Gram’ project at Ganga Gram Swachata Sammelan
i. The government had formally launched the ‘Ganga Gram’ project at the Ganga Gram Swachata Sammelan in New Delhi.
ii. As part of its clean Ganga mission – Namami Gange, the Ganga Gram project is an integrated approach for the holistic development of villages situated on the banks of the holy river with the active participation of villagers.
- Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation Minister- Nitin Gadkari.
- Drinking Water and Sanitation Minister- Uma Bharti.
4. MEA Launched SAMEEP to Take Indian Foreign Policy to Students Across Country
i. With an aim to bring the foreign policy to the masses the External Affairs Ministry has come up with an initiative called SAMEEP – ‘Students and MEA Engagement Programme’. Under this MEA official will talk to students to help them better understand foreign policy.
ii. The main objective of SAMEEP is to take Indian foreign policy and its global engagements to students across the country. Under this programme, all the ministry officers – under-secretary and above – will be asked to go to their hometowns, particularly their alma maters.
- External Affairs Minister of India- Sushma Swaraj.
5. Bengaluru to Host 7th International Coffee Festival
i. The seventh edition of the India International Coffee Festival (IICF) will be held in Bengaluru from January 16-19. The four-day IICF 2018, being organized by the India Coffee Trust and State-run Coffee Board to promote the Indian coffees globally.
ii. As per the officials, IICF 2018 would be a precursor to the International Coffee Organization’s World Coffee Conference being hosted by India in Bengaluru in 2020.
- Srivatsa Krishna- Secretary, Coffee Board of Karnataka.
- Anil Bhandari- President, India Coffee Trust.
6. Airtel Payments Bank CEO Shashi Arora Resigns
i. Airtel Payments Bank Chief Executive Shashi Arora has quit the company after a recent controversy surrounding India’s largest telecom operator and its payment bank’s alleged violation of rules on using Aadhaar for its electronic know-your-customer (e-KYC) verification process.
ii. Recently, UIDAI has temporarily barred Airtel Payments Bank from conducting Aadhaar-based SIM verification of mobile customers using e-KYC process. The suspension of the e-KYC license of Airtel Payments Bank has not been revoked yet.
- Airtel Payments Bank is the first Payments Bank in India.
