US President-elect Joe Biden has appointed Indian-American Mala Adiga as the policy director of his wife Jill. Adiga was a senior adviser to Jill and senior policy adviser for Biden's poll campaign. She previously worked for Biden Foundation as director for higher education and military families.
Adiga will work for the First Lady who intends to prioritise education and welfare of military families.
Before entering government service, Adiga volunteered and worked for Obama's presidential campaign for nearly two years.
The new announcements came just days after Biden revealed his first round of top White House staff.
Tibetan Political Leader Visits White House for First Time in 6 Decades
The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) said that the head of the Tibetan government in exile has visited the White House for the first time in six decades, a move that could further enrage Beijing, which has accused the US of trying to interfere in China's internal affairs.
As per CTA, this unprecedented meeting perhaps will set an optimistic tone for CTA participation with US officials and be more formalised in the coming years.
Sangay, the President of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), was invited to the White House to meet the newly appointed US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, Robert Destro.
Erdogan Says Turkey's Place is in Europe before EU Summit
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey saw itself as a part of Europe, but he called on the European Union to "keep your promises" on issues such as the country's membership bid and refugees.
In recent weeks, the EU members have raised the prospect of sanctions against Turkey over its gas exploration missions in the eastern Mediterranean.
Turkey applied for membership in the bloc in 1987 and four years ago signed a deal with the EU to manage the flow of migrants to Europe.
European heads are due to meet in Brussels on December 10 and 11 and have voiced concerns over Turkish activity in parts of the Mediterranean that Ankara unilaterally claims as its economic zone.
According to a top official of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, India will soon launch an ambitious 'Deep Ocean Mission' that envisages the exploration of minerals, energy and marine diversity of the underwater world, a vast part of which still remains unexplored.
The required approvals are being obtained for the futuristic and game-changing mission.
The mission is expected to cost over Rs. 4,000 crore, will give a boost to efforts to explore India's vast Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf.
RBI Becomes only Central Bank in World to Get a Million Followers on Twitter
With one million Twitter followers, the Reserve Bank of India has become the first central bank in the world to reach this milestone.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has beaten the US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank on Twitter by emerging as the most popular central bank on the microblogging site with one million followers.
As per the latest information available on the RBI's twitter handle '@RBI', the number of followers has increased from 9.66 lakh in September 2020 to one million or 10 lakh.
In contrast to this, the world's most powerful central bank, the US Federal Reserve, has only 6.67 lakh Twitter followers and the Frankfurt-headquartered European Central Bank (ECB), the second most powerful monetary authority in the world, has 5.91 lakh followers.
Indian Overseas Bank Expects Resolution of NPAs in Second Half of FY21
State-owned Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) expects resolution of about Rs. 18,000 crore of non-performing assets (NPAs) under the insolvency and bankruptcy process during the second half of the current fiscal, a move that will boost its bottom line.
Besides, the Chennai-based bank is hoping to come out of the prompt corrective action (PCA) framework of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) next fiscal.
On the back of resolution and pick up in advances, the bank aims to bring down the gross NPAs below 10 per cent mark by March.
Bharti Airtel to Acquire Stake in Avaada MHBuldhana
Bharti Airtel would acquire 5.2 per cent stake in solar power company Avaada MHBuldhana for Rs. 4.55 crore in an all-cash deal.
Avaada MHBuldhana Private Limited is a newly-formed company and developing a captive generating solar power plant in Maharashtra which will become operational by March 2021.
It is a subsidiary of Avaada Energy Private Limited (AEPL).
AEPL has developed a portfolio of over 1 gigawatt solar and wind projects across the country and the first independent power producer to cross 1 GW installed capacity milestone in India.
China to Launch Moon Probe, Seeking First Lunar Rock Retrieval since 1970s
China plans to launch an unmanned spacecraft to the moon this week to bring back lunar rocks in the first attempt by any nation to retrieve samples from Earth's natural satellite since the 1970s.
The Chang'e-5 probe, named after the ancient Chinese goddess of the Moon, will seek to collect material that can help scientists understand more about the noon's origins and formation. The mission will test China's ability to remotely acquire samples from space, ahead of more complex missions.
If successful, the mission will make China only the third country to have retrieved lunar samples, following the United States and the Soviet Union decades ago.
Youssoufa Moukoko Becomes Youngest Player in Bundesliga History
Youssoufa Moukoko has become the youngest player to feature in a Bundesliga match after he made his debut for Borussia Dortmund at Olympiastadion Berlin. Moukoko turned 16 on Friday and was immediately included in Dortmund's squad for their league clash away to Hertha Berlin.
A rule change in the German top-flight earlier this year has changed the minimum age requirement from 16 and a half to 16, enabling his inclusion on the bench.
Moukoko has also made an impact at the international level, representing Germany at both U16 and U20 levels.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the eighth convocation of Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (PDPU), Gandhinagar via video conferencing.
During the convocation, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of a `45 MW Production Plant of Monocrystalline Solar Photo Voltaic Panel` and `Centre of Excellence on Water Technology` at the university, and inaugurated the `Innovation and Incubation Centre - Technology Business Incubation`, `Translational Research Centre` and `Sports Complex`.
The Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (PDPU) was established as a private university through the State Act enacted on April 4, 2007, and offers programs in the domains of Science, Technology, Management and Humanities.
Former DMK MP K. P. Ramalingam Joins BJP
Former DMK MP, K. P. Ramalingam joined the BJP, and he said that he would try to convince the expelled Dravidian party leader M. K. Alagiri to join the saffron party.
Ramalingam joined the BJP in the presence of national general secretary and Tamil Nadu in-charge, C. T. Ravi and Tamil Nadu unit president L. Murugan at the party office.
Ramalingam was suspended from the DMK early this year for 'violation' of party discipline by expressing a view against the party's demand for an all-party meeting to discuss the coronavirus pandemic. He was also relieved from his party post of secretary of agriculture wing.
Top BPF Leaders Join BJP in Assam
Ahead of the next year's assembly polls, with a shot in the arm for BJP, two top leaders of Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF), an ally of the ruling saffron party in Assam, including founding leader and Rajya Sabha MP Biswajit Daimary, joined the leading partner.
Along with Daimary, who has resigned from the Rajya Sabha, BPF's General Secretary and MLA Emmanuel Mosahary joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in presence of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, state BJP president Ranjit Kumar Dass and national General Secretary Dilip Saikia in Guwahati.
Daimary and Emmanuel Mosahary are tribal leaders.
The tribal dominated party BPF since 2016 is the ruling partner of the BJP in the state and also a member of the saffron party led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA).
Indian Navy to Host Singapore Bilateral Maritime Exercise in Andaman Sea
The Indian Navy (IN) is scheduled to host the 27th edition of India — Singapore Bilateral Maritime Exercise (SIMBEX-20) from November 23 to November 25, 2020, in the Andaman Sea.
The SIMBEX series of exercises between IN and Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), being conducted annually since 1994, are aimed at enhancing mutual inter-operability and imbibing best practices from each other.
The 2020 edition of SIMBEX will witness participation by Indian Navy ships including destroyer Rana with integral Chetak helicopter and indigenously built corvettes Kamorta and Karmuk. In addition, IN submarine Sindhuraj and P8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft will also participate in the exercise.
Agastya Jaiswal from Hyderabad Becomes first Graduate at Just 14 Years
Fourteen-year-old Agastya Jaiswal from Hyderabad has claimed himself to be the first student in India to complete his graduation at the age of 14 years.
Jaiswal has completed his BA Mass Communication and Journalism Degree from Osmania University.
He is also the first boy in Telangana to pass Class 10 at the age of 9 years with 7.5 GPA. At 11 years of age, he was also the first boy in Telangana to pass the intermediate examination with 63 per cent.
India will host the G20 summit in 2023 and not in 2022, with a postponement of one year. The development was confirmed by sources both in Saudi Arabia and Delhi that India will host the summit of the grouping of the 20 biggest economies in 2023.
It has been decided on the basis of consultations and mutual convenience that India will be hosting in 2023 after Italy and Indonesia.
This will be the first such summit of the grouping in India since its formation after the 2008 financial crisis.
Italy and India had swapped the year for hosting G20 summit. In Asia, South Korea hosted G20 in 2010, followed by Turkey in 2015 and China in 2016 and next will be Indonesia.
Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' has been awarded the Vatayan Lifetime Achievement Award, on November 21, 2020.
The Vatayan award has been given to Pokhriyal for his excellent contribution to the literary works of India.
The Education Minister has been a recipient of many respected awards in the field of literature and administration including the Sahitya Bharati Award by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Sahitya Gaurav Samman by Former President APJ Abdul Kalam, among others.
The Vatayan International Awards are presented by the Vatayan-UK organisation in London to honour poets, writers, and artists for their works in the respective fields.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has reportedly changed the question paper pattern for class XII board examinations, focusing more on multiple-choice questions and those based on case studies.
Notably, several schools, after the release of sample question papers for Classes X and XII, observed that weight age for MCQs has been increased by 10 per cent. According to reports, the new pattern is intended to test students' ability to understand.
The board has reduced the syllabus for class 10th and 12th by 30 per cent due to which at least 4-5 chapters have been reduced in every subject. The change is going to be implemented from this session.
Odisha Revises School Merger Decision
Following protests by the opposition in the Assembly, the Odisha government revised its decision on merger of schools, specifically for scheduled areas.
Areas declared scheduled areas under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution with a preponderance of tribal population have a separate legal and administrative framework. Three districts in the state fall completely under the scheduled areas while nine others fall partially under it.
School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash said that closing down schools was never the intention. "In scheduled areas, only schools with less than 15 students will be merged with other schools."
Critically acclaimed books by three Indian writers have featured among this year's '100 Notable Books' list of The New York Times that also includes former US President Barack Obama's newly released memoir 'A Promised Land'.
The prestigious list also includes the work of fiction 'A Burning' by India-born Megha Majumdar, 'Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line' by Deepa Anappara and Samanth Subramanian's 'A Dominant Character: The Radical Science and Restless Politics of JBS'.
Provocative Marilyn Monroe Sculpture to Return to Palm Springs
A controversial 26-foot-tall Marilyn Monroe sculpture that once graced downtown Palm Springs, California is due to return, to a new location in front of the Palm Springs Art Museum.
The kitsch work by the artist Seward Johnson, which has popped up in other cities across the US over the years, depicts the famous moment from Billy Wilder's film "The Seven-Year Itch" when Monroe's white skirt gets blown up by gusts from a sidewalk grate.
When it was first shown in the California desert town, from 2012 to 2014, Forever Marilyn was a popular tourist attraction, with many visitors posing for photographs between the statue's feet. But its return is seen as an embarrassment to the feminist movement and the local art community, and the art museum's director has spoken out against it.
+91-85588-96644
