1) 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 state government has given 50 acres of land for the varsity.
2) Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg steps down
•Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg has stepped down as the company is facing tough period following two fatal crashes. He will be replaced by Chairman David Calhoun effective January 13, 2020. He became the CEO of the world’s largest aerospace company in July 2015. The company’s best selling commercial jet was grounded worldwide in March 2019 after two fatal crashes killed 346 people.
3) Atal Bhujal Yojana launched by Government of India
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched Atal Bhujal Yojana (ATAL JAL) which aims to improve groundwater management. The scheme has been designed with the principal objective of strengthening the institutional framework for participatory groundwater management. It aims to bring behavioral changes at the community level for sustainable groundwater resource management in seven States. The 7 states includes Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The scheme will promote panchayat led ground water management and behavioural change with primary focus on demand side management.
•The Government has outlaid Rs. 6000 crore for the scheme. Out of the total outlay of Rs. 6000 crore to be implemented over a period of 5 years (2020-21 to 2024-25), 50% shall be in the form of World Bank loan, and to be repaid by the Central Government. The remaining 50% shall be through Central Assistance from regular budgetary support. The entire World Bank’s loan component and Central Assistance will be passed on to the States as Grants.
4) 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 organisation of industry and trade. He will succeed Balkrishan Goenka, the Welspun Group Chairman. Niranjan Hiranandani is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of the Hiranandani Group of Companies.
5) Tamil Nadu tops ‘Good Governance Index’ launched by GoI
The Central Government has released the “Good Governance Index” on the occasion of Good Governance Day. The “Good Governance Index” was launched to assess the state of governance in Indian States and Union Territories. The prime objective of the GGI is to provide quantifiable data to compare the state of governance in all states and Union Territories, enable them to formulate and implement suitable strategies for improving governance and shift to result oriented approaches and administration.
The Index was launched by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, and the Centre for Good Governance.
The GGI takes into consideration ten sectors. These ten Governance Sectors are measured on total 50 indicators. The 10 sectors are:
•Agriculture and Allied Sectors
•Commerce & Industries
•Human Resource Development
•Public Health
•Public Infrastructure & Utilities
•Economic Governance
•Social Welfare & Development
•Judicial & Public Security
•Environment
•Citizen-Centric Governance
The states and UTs are divided into three groups:
•Big States
•North-East & Hill States
•Union Territories
Some key results of the day:
•Among the “Big States“, Tamil Nadu topped the Good Governance Index. The poor performers are Odisha, Bihar, Goa, and Uttar Pradesh with Jharkhand finishing last in the group.
•Among the “North-East and 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.
•Among the “Union Territories“, Puducherry topped the index followed by Chandigarh and Delhi. Lakshwadeep is the worst performing UT.
6) 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 has won the award for effective implementation of Swachh Bharat Mission in water sanitation and hygiene sectors.
•Kamareddy district was on top in the country among other districts in construction of individual sanitary lavatories, swachh darpan wall paintings, swachh survekshan, swachh sundar shouchalay and many other activities.
7) MS Dhoni named captain of CA’s ODI team of the decade
•Former India skipper and wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni been named captain of Cricket Australia’s (CA) ODI team of the decade and the line-up features three Indian players. Apart from Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have made the cut in CA’s team.
•CA’s ODI team of the decade: Rohit Sharma, Hashim Amla, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Shakib Al Hasan, Jos Buttler, MS Dhoni (c), Mitchell Starc, Trent Boult, Lasith Malinga, Rashid Khan.
