ASSAM

World Bank and Government of India Sign $88 million loan agreement for the implementation of Assam Inland Water Transport Project

The Government of India, the Government of Assam and the World Bank signed a loan agreement of $88 million here to help modernize Assam’s passenger ferry sector that runs on its rivers including the mighty Brahmaputra.

A majority of Assam’s more than 361 ferry routes cross the Brahmaputra or serve its islands, providing a crucial means of transport to thousands of commuters in both the urban and rural areas of the Brahmaputra Valley.

The Assam Inland Water Transport Project (AIWTP) will help Assam improve the passenger ferry infrastructure and its services and strengthen the capacity of the institutions running the inland water transport.

The Assam Inland Water Transport Project will help develop a modern, efficient and safe river transport system for the large volume of passengers and cargo carried by the vessels.

Assam has the largest network of navigable waterways in India.

INTERNATIONAL

Year 2020 Designated as Year of Nurse and Midwife

World Health Organization (WHO) designated 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife to honor the 200th birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale. The World Health Organization (WHO) is the collaborating partner in the three-year Nursing Now Campaign (2018–2020).

The main objective is to improve health globally by raising the status and profile of nursing, demonstrating achieved by a strengthened nursing profession, and enabling nurses to maximize their contribution to achieving Universal Health Coverage.

NATIONAL

353rd Birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh ji

The birth anniversary of the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh ji is being celebrated in the country.

Born in 1666, Guru Gobind Singh is considered to be one of the most celebrated of all Sikh gurus.

He was the tenth Sikh Guru, a spiritual master, warrior, poet and philosopher.

Among his notable contributions to Sikhism are founding the Sikh warrior community called Khalsa in 1699 and introducing the Five Ks (Kesh, Kangha, Kara, Kachera and Kirpan), the five articles of faith that Khalsa Sikhs wear at all times.

RBI launches ‘MANI’ mobile app

The Reserve Bank of India, RBI has launched a mobile app, MANI, Mobile Aided Note Identifier, to help visually challenged people to identify denomination of currency notes.

The app, which is available on both Android and iOS operating systems, was launched by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das in Mumbai.

RBI said that the visually challenged can identify the denomination of a note by using the application, which can also work offline once it is installed.

Through the downloaded app, users can scan the notes using the camera.

The audio output will give the result in Hindi and English.

RBI launches mobile app for visually challenged to identify denomination of currency notes

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das launched a mobile app to help visually-impaired people to identify the denomination of currency notes. The visually challenged people can identify the denomination of a currency note by using the mobile app. The application works offline once installed. The users can freely download the app, called ‘MANI’ (Mobile Aided Note Identifier), from Android Playstore or iOS App Store. The application can scan the currency notes using the camera of the mobile phone. It also gives audio output in Hindi and English.

The central bank introduced several currency notes under Mahatma Gandhi Series with significant changes in the sizes and designs after the demonetization in November 2016. Under the new series, banknotes of ₹10, ₹20, ₹50, ₹100, ₹200, ₹500 and ₹2,000 released in the past couple of years. The app does not authenticate a note as either genuine or counterfeit.

Indian Railway announces one integrated Helpline number 139

The Indian Railways made to overcome the inconvenience over multiple helpline numbers for grievances and inquiry during railway travel, Indian Railway integrated railway helplines into single number 139 for the passengers for quick grievance redressal and inquiry during their journey. The new helpline number 139 will take over all the existing helpline numbers (except 182), it will be easy for the passengers to remember this number and connect with Railways for all their needs during the travel.

The Helpline 139 will be available in twelve languages. It will be based on the IVRS (Interactive Voice Response System).

EC launches online system to let new parties track status of registration applications

Election Commission launched an online system to allow political parties to track the applications for the registration with the poll panel on a real-time basis. The Commission amended the guidelines for registration last month. The new norms have come into force. The features of the Political Parties Registration Tracking Management System (PPRTMS) the applicants applying for the party registration from January 1 will be able to track the progress of application and will get the status update through SMS and e-mail.

The registration of political parties governed by the provisions of section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The record of applying to the Commission within 30 days from the date of its formation.

ISRO to set up second launch port in Thoothukodi district

Indian Space Research Organisation establish a second launch port in Thoothukodi district in Tamilnadu exclusively to launch small satellite launch vehicles. ISRO Chairman K Sivan informed that this would come up in 2300 acres. The line of GPS navigation system developed by America, the Indian navigation system called Navic with the indigenous atomic clock, will be operational with mobile phone manufacturers coming forward to install the regional navigation device. Chandrayaan 3 mission to the moon comprising of a lander and a rover is approved by the Union Government.

India’s first human-crewed mission to outer space Gaganyaan and four men selected from Indian Air Force will leave for Russia in the third week of January to get training. The Gaganyaan mission targeted to launch by 2022.

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