USMCA North American trade deal inked by President Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump has signed the new United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) North American trade pact with Canada and Mexico into law. The new deal makes changes to trading rules among the three countries. Among them are higher thresholds for how much of an automobile must be made in North America in order to trade vehicles duty-free; greater access to Canada’s dairy market; and easier unionization for Mexican workers.

Rani Rampal wins ‘World Games Athlete of the Year’ award

Indian women’s team captain Rani Rampal became the 1st-ever hockey player worldwide to win the prestigious ‘World Games Athlete of the Year‘ award 2019. The winner was announced by The World Games after 20 days of polling by sports fans worldwide. Recently, Rani was also awarded with Padma Shri. She dedicated the award to the entire hockey fraternity, her team and the country.

Padma Shri awardee Tushar Kanjilal, eminent social worker passes away

Famous social worker, environmentalist, educationist and writer Tushar Kanjilal passed away. The Government of India awarded Tushar Kanjilal the 4th highest civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1986. He also received the Jamnalal Bajaj Award in 2008. Kanjilal is known for his contribution to education in remote Rangabelia in the Sundarbans in the 1970s and his work for the uplift of the people in the area.

World Leprosy Day 2020

World Leprosy Day is observed internationally on 30th January or the Sunday closest to that date. The main purpose of this festival is to increase public awareness of Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease. This particular day was actually chosen to commemorate the death of Indian leader, Mahatma Gandhi, who understood the importance of this disease. World Leprosy Day creates awareness that leprosy is in fact curable.

Eimear Noone becomes first female orchestra conductor in Oscars

Irish composer Eimear Noone will be the first woman to conduct an orchestra at the Oscars guest-segment. She will lead the 42-piece orchestra at the Academy Awards as it plays excerpts from five nominated scores on Sunday 9 February. The Galway-born conductor was invited to take charge by Oscars’ Music Director Rickey Minor.

Sanjana Kapoor conferred French honour ‘Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters’

Sanjana Kapoor received the prestigious French honor of ‘Chevalier dans Ordre des Arts et des Lettres‘ – Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters – for her outstanding contribution to the field of theatre. In 2012, she co-founded Junoon, an organisation dedicated to increasing the reach of theatre and the arts to wider audiences through innovative initiatives.

Franck Riester conferred the symbol of the distinction on Kapoor in a special investiture ceremony on January 28 at the French embassy in New Delhi. Some noted Indian recipients of this honor in the past include Bharti Kher, Shah Rukh Khan, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Aishwarya Rai, Raghu Rai, Ebrahim Alkazi, Habib Tanveer, Upamanyu Chatterjee, Wendell Rodricks, and Aruna Vasudev.

Pensioners’ life certificates will be collected from their doorstep

Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare has taken a landmark step to make life easier for senior citizens to submit their Annual Life Certificate for continued pension. The centre has asked banks to collect annual life certificates of its Pensioners from their doorsteps, saving them from hassles of visiting pension disbursing banks. An amount not more than Rs 60 will be charged for the service. Pensioners are required to give proof of them being alive to banks every year in order to ensure continued pension.

9-Judge Constitution Bench to frame issues about discrimination against women

On February 3, a 9-judge Constitution bench will  frame issues for deliberation in the matter relating to discrimination against women in various religions and at religious places including Kerala’s Sabarimala Temple, as stated by the Supreme Court. The bench will consider issues related to the entry of Muslim women into mosques, female genital mutilation in the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community and barring of Parsi women, married to non-Parsi men, from the holy fireplace at Agiary.

PMAY-G: The objective of ‘Housing for All’ to be achieved by 2022

Under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Grameen, Union Government aims to achieve objective of ‘Housing for All’ by 2022. In last 5 years, a total of over 1.5 crore rural houses have been completed. Government has set a target of 60 lakh houses for the current financial year. The eligible beneficiaries will get 1.95 crore houses in the second phase of the scheme, as stated by the Ministry of Finance.